Carl Heckman graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1940. He was ordained a Lutheran minister and served as pastor of a Lutheran church in Navasota, Texas. During World War II he entered military service and was commissioned a U.S. Army chaplain. He landed at Utah Beach in Normandy, France, and accompanied his unit during the fighting across France. He was wounded in action on September 22, 1944, and awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart. After recovering from his wounds, he returned to his unit until the end of the war. He returned home in December 1945, and resumed his ministry at Navasota, and then at parishes in Eden and Menard, Texas. He served as a member of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod’s Texas District Stewardship Committee, and later as president of the LCMS’s Texas District.
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Awards Received
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Silver Star
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Silver Star
Service:
United States ArmyRank:
Captain (Chaplain’s Corps)Regiment:
314th Infantry RegimentDivision:
79th Infantry DivisionAction Date:
September 22, 1944
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Captain (Chaplain’s Corps) Carl August Heckmann, United States Army, for gallantry in action against the enemy while serving as a chaplain with the 314th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division, in operations in France, on 22 September 1944. After many casualties were suffered during the bitter fighting at the Meurthe River in Northeastern France, Chaplain Heckmann volunteered his services as a litter bearer. The only roue to the wounded men was over open terrain, subject to enemy observation and intense fire. Chaplain Heckmann made repeated trips and evacuated casualties until he was caught in enemy fire and severely wounded. The gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty demonstrated by Chaplain Heckmann, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.