Arthur Carl Piepkorn: Chaplain to the Greatest Generation by John Hannah

Abstract

Reviewed by: Arthur Carl Piepkorn: Chaplain to the Greatest Generation by John Hannah Matthew L. Becker Arthur Carl Piepkorn: Chaplain to the Greatest Generation. By John Hannah. Delhi, New York: ALPB Books, 2020. 88 pp. Other than Jaroslav Pelikan, Arthur Carl Piepkorn (1907–1973) was the most erudite and influential historical theologian to have taught at Concordia Seminary St. Louis in the twentieth century. [End Page 212] He served on that faculty between 1951 and his forced retirement in 1973, an event that likely contributed to his death that same year. Not only did he teach and write brilliantly on a broad range of theological topics, he also served with great distinction as a chaplain in the United States Army. Indeed, Piepkorn's influence on the Army chaplaincy after 1945 is hard to overestimate. His "after-action report" about chaplains in the European theater led to significant and enduring reforms. John Hannah, who studied under Piepkorn and was encouraged by him to become an Army chaplain (retiring at the rank of colonel), divides his book into three parts. The first and largest section covers Piepkorn's appointment as an Army chaplain in 1936, his rapid advancement in Europe during and after the Second World War, his after-action report, and his service in the Army Reserve (Office of Chief of Chaplains) between 1951 and 1967. Hannah demonstrates how Piepkorn's military service fit well with his interest in ecumenism and led directly to the writing of his posthumously published multi-volume magnum opus, Profiles in Belief (1977–79). While Hannah's second section offers a very positive assessment of Piepkorn's chaplaincy and his role in paving the way for other Lutheran chaplains to rise to high levels of leadership across all military branches, the final part contains the address that Piepkorn delivered at the first annual training conference of Army chaplains in 1969. Given at the height of the Vietnam War, when many Americans were questioning the legitimacy and legality of the military chaplaincy, Piepkorn's address provides an abiding rationale for such a ministry "pro deo et patria." Despite the book's interesting anecdotes (for example, about Piepkorn's work as a translator for General Eisenhower) and its helpful insights into a humble, diaconal approach to military chaplaincy, the book is hagiographic and occasionally repetitive. As much as we should appreciate Piepkorn's life and service, one wonders if the man was totally bereft of faults or weaknesses. This important theologian deserves a larger biography, one that would allow for deeper, more critical analysis of his life and work. (A model for that would be Tim Townsend's book on Henry Gerecke, another Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod chaplain: Mission at Nuremberg, [End Page 213] 2014.) Still, for anyone who wants to learn about a model military chaplain from the past century, this book is a good place to start. Matthew L. Becker Valparaiso University Valparaiso, Indiana Copyright © 2022 Johns Hopkins University Press and Lutheran Quarterly, Inc.