Ken Hechler
Biographical Information
Author, politician, professor, military man – Ken Hechler, it might seem, has been everywhere and done nearly everything in his ninety years of life. Born September 20, 1914, Hechler grew up in Roslyn, NY, surrounded by the wealthy and the privileged. Following high school, he attended Swarthmore College, completing an A. B. in 1935, and then he enrolled in Columbia University, earning both an A. M. (1936) and a Ph. D. (1940). Drafted into the army in 1942, Hechler trained as an infantry private and tank commander. While in Officer Candidate School, Hechler was given the assignment to write and produce a musical production to be performed by the OCS graduates. The show, “Praise the Lord and Pass Me My Commission,” was a great success. On the basis of this writing success and an evaluation of Hechler’s OCS autobiography, Hechler was assigned to a new combat history unit headed by S. L. A. Marshall rather than to the tank platoon for which he originally trained. Interviews that were part of this assignment would eventually become The Bridge at Remagen. He remained in active service until 1946, rising to the rank of colonel. Following World War II, Hechler was appointed to a five-person interrogation team that questioned captured Nazis including Goering and Doenitz prior to the Nuremburg Trials.
Returning to the United States, Hechler spent two years (1947-49) as an assistant professor of politics at Princeton University before leaving to begin his career in public service. He served as an advisor and special assistant to President Harry Truman from 1949-1953. These years spent advising the president on local issues, representing the masses of average people at the grass-roots level, would later become Working with Truman (1982). After his years with Truman, he spent a year working as research director for presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson before returning to higher education as an associate professor of political science at Marshall College (now University) in Huntington, West Virginia.
He taught at Marshall for only one year though running for and winning a seat in the United States House of Representatives as a West Virginia representative. Hechler served his adopted state as a representative for 18 years, serving on committees on research and development of fossil fuels. He also helped to author safety legislation in the 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, as well as legislation to help regulate strip mining and to help improve mail service. After his term of service ended, Hechler spent another two years (1978-1980) as a science consultant for the US House Committee on Science and Technology.
He returned to university teaching for the next few years before being selected West Virginia Secretary of State in 1985, a position he held for 16 years. After leaving office in 2001, Hechler again returned to teaching, as a professor of political science at Marshall University and as a Visiting Distinguished Scholar at West Virginia State College.
As an author, Ken Hechler’s career as been nearly as productive as his career in public service. He has published ten books, as well as contributing to various newspapers and periodicals, including the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, and the Charleston Gazette. His first book was published in 1940, Insurgency: Personalities and Politics of the Taft Era. His second book, Bridge at Remagen -- based largely on interviews conducted during his time as a combat historian – was published in 1957. In addition to his historical writings, Hechler has also written several works on running for office in West Virginia, election procedures, and other West Virginia political guides.
In 2004, Ken Hechler ran again for the office of Secretary of State at that age of 90, but was defeated in the general election.
Critical Responses
Few have denied Hechler's devotion to and concern for his adopted state. He was named West Virginia Son of the Year in 1969. Graffiti named him Mountaineer of the Year for 2003 and he received the Harry S Truman Award for Public Service in 2002. In addition, he has received a National Audubon Society Conservation Award (1973) and the Mother Jones Award from the West Virginia Environmental Council (1996).
Works Published
- Insurgency: Personalities and Politics of the Taft Era
- The Bridge at Remagen
- West Virginia Memories of President Kennedy
- Toward the Endless Frontier: A History of the House Committee on Science and Technology
- The Endless Space Frontier
- Working with Truman: A Personal Memoir of the White House Years
- Holding the Line: The 51st Engineer Combat Battalion and the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944-January 1945
- Municipal Election Procedures Guide
- Running for Office in West Virginia, 1996
- Guide for Political Party Executive Committees for West Virginia Elections
Selected Bibliography
Ken Hechler: Oral History Interview. Truman Library. http://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/hechler.htm
Moffat, Charles H. Ken Hechler: Maverick Public Servant. Mountain State Press; 1987.
Author Website
none available