Elmer W. Heindl (June 14, 1910 â July 17, 2006) was an American U.S. Army chaplain during the Second World War. Enlisting in 1942, Heindl served in the Pacific theater, including Guadalcanal, New Britain, Bougainville, Manila and the Philippines. He became one of the most highly decorated chaplains of the war.
Heindl was born in Rochester, New York on June 14, 1910 to Florence May and William Casper Heindl. He was the oldest of 6 children and graduated from St. Andrew’s Preparatory Seminary and St. Bernard’s Seminary to become a Catholic priest on June 6, 1936. Enlisting in March 1942 as a US Army chaplain, Heindl served in the Pacific. He was decorated in 1943 for aiding US troops while under mortar fire, and in 1944 received the Bronze Star for helping bury American dead in the Solomon Islands, and was awarded the Silver Star a year later in the Philippines. Also in 1945 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for “heroism under fire” in Manila on April 15, one of only 19 chaplains to have been awarded it. Heindl retrieved the body of an American casualty from a prison watchtower while under fire and then returned to rescue a wounded soldier with the aid of Private First Class Elmer Russell, who also received the Distinguished Service Cross. The two men gave aid to the dying soldier while continually under fire every time Russell used a flashlight to assess the injuries.[6] Two days later, on April 17, Heindl rescued American colonel Lawrence Kermit White, bringing him to an aid station while under fire. Of these actions he stated: âI went down there to do my duty as a chaplain, and that’s what saved me, the distinguished service cross doesn’t add one bit to my stature. Whatever happened was none of my doing whatsoever.â
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