Gerecke Memorial Cross dedication on Sunday, August 1

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Once again a red neon cross atop St. John Lutheran School in Chester will be shining brightly each evening.

A cross was first installed nearly a half-century ago, serving as a memorial for the St. John congregation's beloved assistant pastor, Rev. Henry Gerecke who died unexpectantly of a heart attack on October 11, 1961.

The original cross became inoperable due mostly to weather conditions, and it has now been replaced with a 12-foot tall cross. A ceremony dedicating it as a memorial to Pastor Gerecke is set for Sunday night, August 1, on the school grounds starting at 8:30 p.m.

St. John Pastor Mark Willig and the people of the church invite everyone in the area to join them at the ceremony. The principle speaker will be District President Herb Mueller, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

Rev. Gerecke and his wife, Alma, came to Chester in 1950 when he became the assistant pastor at St. John. He also served as Chaplain at Menard Penitentiary and Illinois Security Hospital, now the Chester Mental Health Center. Worship services were conducted regularly by the Chaplain, and there were Bible study courses for the inmates, Christian films and literature and personal counseling.

At one time Orville Hodge, former Illinois State Auditor and a candidate for Governor of Illinois, worked as Rev. Gerecke's office clerk, helping arrange the many activities of the Chaplain's office for the men confined at Menard. Mr. Hodge refused to write about his conviction and his imprisonment until he agreed to do an article for a Lutheran publication about the Chaplain's work. Hodge wrote, "Chaplain Gerecke is a patient, humble, tolerant and dedicated man of God. I am happy that he calls me his friend and helper."

In August 1943, Rev. Gerecke entered the U. S. Army Chaplain's Corps with the rank of Major. He served in England, France, and Germany. In 1945 he was assigned a detachment that was overseeing the major war crimes trials at the Nuremberg Palace of Justice. There were 21 Nazis on trial, 15 of them Protestants, and the others, Catholic. Chaplain Sixtus O'Connor was named to consult with the Catholics.

At first Chaplain Gerecke was hesitant to accept the past. His answer was prayer. He later wrote, "I prayed harder than I ever did in my life."

Among the men he was to counsel was Hitler's second-in-command, Herman Goering. He attended worship services, but explained he only came in order to get out of his cell for even a short time. Two of the Nazis, Rudolf Hess and Alfred Rasenberg, refused to participate in the chapel services, but the other men sought the comfort of the Gospel.

In the summer of 1946 the war trials were concluded and the prisoners learned their fates, with the chaplains at their side. Eleven were sentenced to death.

In the days before the executions, the chaplains worked tirelessly with the men. On the day of the hangings, the chaplains walked to t he black-painted gallows with each one.

Goering escaped execution. He committed suicide in his cell by swallowing a potassium-cyanide capsule. Just a few hours before, Rev. Gerecke had once again asked the prisoner to accept Jesus. Goering simply said, "I'll take my chances."

Rev. Gerecke received international attention when he wrote an article about his experiences that was printed in the Saturday Evening Post. It was titled, "I Walked to the Gallows With the Nazi Chiefs."

As news of Rev. Gerecke's death swept the community, expressions of sympathy poured in from all over the country. The day before his funeral service at St. John, his body was taken to Menard Prison for several hours so the inmates he had served so well could pay their respects.

The service was conducted at the church by his pastor, Rev. Eric Cash, and burial was in the church cemetery.