Ken Hechler obit

West Virginia Statesman, Author Ken Hechler ’35 dies at 102

 

He was not on the list.

Ken Hechler, an urbane historian who carpetbagged his way into West Virginia’s gritty politics, where he battled destructive coal-industry practices, unsafe mining conditions and felonious county officials, died Dec. 10 at his home in Romney, W.Va. He was 102. …

During 18 years as a Democratic congressman, 16 more as West Virginia secretary of state, and a final act as a do-gooder without portfolio, Dr. Hechler never tired of crusades.

“I used to be an agitator, then an activist,” he wrote at age 94, in 2009. “Now I am a hellraiser.” This was soon after he was arrested while protesting mountaintop removal.

In 2001, Hechler received an honorary degree from Swarthmore. He sang his acceptance speech to the tune of the College’s alma mater, which he rewrote for the occasion (lyrics below). Hechler last spoke on campus in 2011 about mountaintop removal coal mining and the struggles of Appalachian communities to stop the practice.

 

As we leave old Swarthmore College

and this campus fair;

Join the fight for racial justice,

show the world you care!

 

You will be remembered one day,

not for wealth or power;

But your work for all the people,

that’s your finest hour.

 

There’s a need for more crusaders,

give your heart and soul;

Fight against the special interests,

that should be your goal.

 

We must get along together,

with all peoples too;

Differences should be respected,

and their points of view.

 

Mother Earth needs conservation,

can’t you hear her cry?

We must work for preservation,

or the earth will die.

 

Peace and freedom for all nations;

feed and house the poor.

Hail to thee, our Alma Mater;

Hail, All Hail, Swarthmore!

Ken Hechler, a veteran of World War II, staff assistant to President Harry Truman, member of the United States House of Representatives, and West Virginia Secretary of State died this past Saturday, December 10, 2016. As people across the state reflect on the life of Congressman Hechler, we are reflecting on his role in West Virginia’s congressional delegation and his leadership in over thirty years of public service.

Born in 1914 in New York, Hechler attended Swarthmore College and Columbia University, receiving a PhD from the latter in history and government. During World War II, Hechler served as the combat historian for the European Theater of Operations, chronicling the liberation of France, D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, and the allied forces entry into Nazi Germany. Hechler interviewed several former Nazi government and military officials prior to the Nuremberg Trials. Parts of his work were published in The Bridge at Remagen: The Amazing Story of March 7, 1945 in 1957 and later adapted in film in 1969.

Following World War II, Hechler joined the staff of President Harry Truman and later served as research director for Adlai Stevenson during the 1956 campaign. Two years later, Hechler won election to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving West Virginia’s fourth congressional district. Seated on January 3, 1959, Hechler was a liberal voice in the West Virginia delegation, becoming an outspoken critic of the coal industry and the damages it wrought on the state. In 1969, he became the chief sponsor of the Coal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1969. President Nixon signed the legislation into law on December 30, 1969, establishing the Mine Safety and Health Administration, calling for annual inspections of coal mines and imposing penalties for mine owners who failed to meet safety standards. In collaboration with Senator Robert C. Byrd, Hechler’s efforts were strengthened three years after the bill’s passage with the Black Lung Act of 1972, which expanded protections and aid to mine workers who contracted respiratory illnesses from inhaling coal dust in the mines.

Congressman Hechler devoted much of his career in the House of Representatives to environmental causes. These efforts included opposition to strip mining and preservation of West Virginia’s natural resources, including the New River. In 1974, working closely with Congressman Harley O. Staggers, Sr., Congressman Hechler pushed for the inclusion of four West Virginia wilderness areas under the protection of the 1964 Wilderness Act. From these efforts, Dolly Sods, Otter Creek, Cranberry Wilderness, and Laurel Fork were placed under protection between 1974 and 1983.

After an unsuccessful bid for governor of West Virginia in 1976, Congressman Hechler taught at Marshall University, the University of Charleston, and West Virginia University. In 1984, he was elected West Virginia Secretary of State, going on to serve 4 full terms, the longest tenure of any holder of that office. Serving under the Moore, Caperton, and Underwood Administrations, Hechler continued his efforts to curb the devastating environmental impact of strip mining and later mountaintop removal.

​Congressman Hechler prided himself on connecting with his constituencies on the front lines. In 1964, he was the only member of Congress to march with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, Alabama. Congressman Hechler protested mountaintop removal mining in 2004 and again in 2009 when, at the age of 94, he was arrested with 28 other protestors. In an effort to bring the issue to the national forum, Congressman Hechler entered the primary election for the senate seat vacated after the death of Senator Robert C. Byrd. Though he lost the primary to then-Governor Joe Manchin, his platform to end mountaintop removal garnered much attention to the practice and its environmental impact.

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The Byrd Center was privileged to conduct an oral history interview with Congressman Hechler in 2012.

Of German-American descent, Hechler was born in Roslyn, New York, on September 20, 1914, to Charles Henry and Catherine Elizabeth (Hauhart) Hechler. He held a BA from Swarthmore College, and an MA and PhD from Columbia University in history and government. Hechler served on the faculty of Columbia University, Princeton University, and Barnard College in the years leading up to World War II.

Hechler held a series of minor appointed positions in the federal civil service until he was drafted into the United States Army during World War II in July, 1942. After graduation from Armored Force Officer Candidate School, he was assigned as a combat historian in the European Theater of Operations. Hechler helped chronicle the liberation of France, the 1944 Normandy invasion, Battle of the Bulge, and entrance into Nazi Germany. He was attached to the 9th Armored Division when an armored and infantry task force, part of Combat Command B, unexpectedly captured the Ludendorff Bridge spanning the Rhine River during the Battle of Remagen. He interviewed both U.S. and German soldiers involved at the time. He was awarded a Bronze Star and 5 battle stars. He returned after the war twice to interview Germans who took part in the battle. He found Captain Willi Bratge, whom a German military court had sentenced to death in absentia because he had been captured, and spent a week with him in the Remagen area learning about details of the battle. In 1957 he published the book The Bridge at Remagen: The Amazing Story of March 7, 1945, which was adapted into a film in 1969.