Henry Gerecke

Henry H. "Hank" Gerecke, 95, of Cape Girardeau passed away Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, at Chateau Girardeau in Cape Girardeau.

He was born Feb. 26, 1921, in St. Louis. He was the oldest son of Alma (Bender) Gerecke and Pastor Henry H. Gerecke of Chester, Illinois. He also had two brothers, Carlton M. Gerecke of Mount Olive, Illinois, and Roy D. Gerecke of St. Louis, who predeceased him.

He was married to his beloved wife, Millie (Curtis) Gerecke, for 64 years. She died Dec. 20, 2010. They met in Nancy, France, while Millie was serving in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps at the end of World War II. He also is predeceased by his son, David H. Gerecke of Horsham, Victoria, Australia, and his daughter-in-law, Dot, also from Horsham.

Gerecke is survived by his children, Stephen L. (Karen) Gerecke of Lansing, Kansas, and Jan M. (Bob) Moore of McClure, Illinois; four grandchildren, Samantha Gerecke (T.J.) Vojak of O'Fallon, Illinois, Stephen Moore of McClure, Jessica Gerecke of Lansing and Jason Gerecke of Australia; and three great-grandchildren, Gabriel, Nolan and Ava Vojak of O'Fallon.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1939, received a commission as a second lieutenant in 1943 and retired in 1975 as a colonel. During his 35 years in the Army, Gerecke served in many different places, including the European Theater of Operations during World War II; South Korea; and South Vietnam. During his time in the Army, he was awarded the Legion of Merit (5); Aviation Medal (2); The Bronze Star; and Medal for Gallantry from the Vietnamese government.

He served in Japan and Korea, and then he went on to serve as confinement officer at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. From there, he served as provost marshal of the Pacific Area Panama Canal Zone, where he supervised all military police activity for eight military installations as well as assisting in the training and modernization of the National Guard Republic of Panama or the Guardia Nacional. He also served as director of the Military Police Department U.S. Army School Europe in Oberammergau, Germany. He then went on to South Vietnam, where he served as battalion commander of the 504th Military Police Battalion in 1965-1966. After leaving Vietnam, he served at Headquarters, Combat Development Command Staff Officer, General Staff at Fort Belvoir. And from there, he served as provost marshal of III Corp and Commander 7th Military Police Group, Fort Hood, Texas. From there, he went back to Panama, serving as provost marshal of U.S. Army Forces Southern Command. He served his second tour in Vietnam from 1972-1973 as provost marshal and commander of the 18th Military Police Brigade. Returning to the U.S., he was assigned as provost marshal of the 5th U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio. He retired from the Army in December 1974.

He received numerous commendations during his military career, including the Legion of Merit with four oak leaf clusters; the Air Medal with an oak leaf cluster; the Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters; and the Vietnamese Cross of Valor, as well as a Bronze Star.

During his military career, he attended numerous education venues, starting in 1944 with the Police Officer Criminal Investigation course in Fort Custer, Michigan; U.S. Army Military Police Officers Career Course Fort Gordon, Georgia, in 1954; U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1961; Graduate Traffic and Police Administration course Traffic Institute at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, in 1947-1948; Michigan State University, where he received a bachelor of science degree in police administration; and Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas, in 1975, where he received an master of arts degree in criminal justice.

In December 1974, he and Millie came to Cape Girardeau, where he served as chief of police until 1981.

After retiring as chief of police, he went on to teach criminal justice at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, as well as at Washington University of St. Louis.

Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. today at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

Funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, with the Rev. John Dehne officiating.

Burial will be at Cape County Memorial Park Cemetery in Cape Girardeau. Full military rites will be conducted by the Missouri Honors Team.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to the Mildred J. Gerecke Scholarship Fund at Southeast Missouri State University.

Online condolences may be made at fordandsonsfuneralhome.com.