Ernest Frederick Wentzel

1. 5/12/1929 Craigmyle, Alberta, Canada (to U.S. missionary parents)

 

Spouse/Family

Wife: Shirley LuAnne (nee Solmonson), b. 5/13/1933, m. 8/14/1964

Children: Charles Russell (1959, to Shirley and her first husband, adopted by Ernest

in 1964); Ruth LuAnne (Bauer) (1965); Peter Frederick (1967); Paul

Ernest (1968)

 

Dates of Service Field Call Assignment

1953-1973 U.S. Army Military Chaplaincy

1973-1991 BFMS Ministry to Armed Forces Director, Ministry by Mail Program

1991-1995 Lutheran Church Extension Fund, Vice President

Southern Illinois District

 

Biographical Summary

Ernest (Ernie) Wentzel attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis from 1948-1953.  During his last year at the seminary it was announced that, upon graduation, six students from the class would be called into military chaplaincy to fill the quota allotted to LCMS by the government.  Two professors at the seminary conducted a series of classes to acquaint students with military chaplaincy and administered a battery of tests used in the military.  Ernie attended the classes, underwent the tests, and when asked by the dean if he would be willing to take on military chaplaincy, said yes; still, it was a surprise on call night when it was announced that his first call would be to military chaplaincy.  He chose to become an army chaplain.

 

Ernie was ordained by his father, a Lutheran pastor, in June 1953.  That September, his first assignment was to Fort Benning, Georgia.  He writes, “I arrived at Fort Benning with no experience in the parish and never previously having been on a military installation.  It was slightly traumatic.”  He was assigned to a unit immediately but did not attend chaplain’s school until October, where he learned some basics of military structure.  Ernie remained at Fort Benning for two years, then embarked on a series of postings: England for two years, Germany for one, Fort Benning for another year, California for two years, and Korea for a year.  His ministry was both similar to and different from that of a parish pastor.  He conducted services on Sundays, counseled members of his unit, and taught Bible classes.  However, the services had to be “general Protestant” services to better fit the needs of a diverse unit.  Ernie was also responsible for making sure the religious needs of non-Protestant soldiers were met: he would enlist, for instance, a Catholic or Jewish chaplain to counsel and provide services for Catholic or Jewish soldiers, or, if no chaplain was available, would locate the nearest church or synagogue for worship services.  Moreover, the spiritual and moral issues faced by the soldiers Ernie worked with were somewhat different from those faced by parishioners in a civilian congregation.

 

In addition to the "General Protestant" services provided for his unit, Ernie always had a care and concern for the Lutheran personnel in his unit and sometimes in the surrounding area.  This involved conducting Lutheran services where the Lord's Supper could be provided to Lutheran personnel.  When no other Lutheran Chaplains were in the area, services were often conducted on a Sunday afternoon so that Lutheran personnel from surrounding units could attend.  Many military personnel and sometimes families were faithful in driving many miles to attend these services to receive the Lord's Supper on a regular basis.

 

When he was in the field, Ernie took with him a field kit with portable altar as well as candles, the crucifix and so forth to conduct services.  He had, as well, a field organ that could be set up and played for worship.  Like all unit chaplains, he stayed with his unit wherever they went, “sharing their joys and discomforts.”

 

Once his deployment to Korea was finished, however, Ernie decided to branch out – he went to jump school to become an airborne chaplain.  His jump training was at Fort Benning, and he then joined the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.  As he says, it was “perhaps the greatest assignment of my career, from a military viewpoint.”  When he left Fort Bragg forty months later, he had made 65 jumps and earned his Master Wings.

 

During this time at Fort Bragg, Ernie took another important step – he was married to Shirley Solmonson, a cousin of another chaplain friend.  Shirley was an Iowa farm girl who had been widowed at a young age when her husband was killed in a car accident.  Her son Charles was only two when his father died.  Shirley and Ernie carried on most of their courtship by mail and were married in 1964, at which time Ernie adopted Charles as his own son.  Ernie notes that Shirley “has been a real blessing to me for the past 44 years” and was able to adjust to military life quite well.  It was not an easy life for a family – Ernie was on a deployment to the Dominican Republic until a week before their daughter Ruth was born in 1965, and he was sent to Vietnam in 1966-67, returning to see his son Peter for the first time when Peter was five months old.  Separation was always a factor in the lives of the Wentzels, just as in the lives of all military families.  While he was in Vietnam, Ernie supervised about thirty-five chaplains, including visiting those chaplains with their units for support and encouragement, and held services at his headquarters.

 

After his service in Vietnam, Ernie and the Wentzel family moved to Fort Huachaca, AZ, where he was chaplain for the military families on the base and at the special warfare school there.  The Wentzels’ youngest child, Paul, was born while they were at Ft. Huachaca.  Their final assignment was three years in Germany (1970-73), after which, as a reserve chaplain, Ernie had served for twenty years and was due for mandatory retirement.  While the Wentzels were still in Germany, however, Ernie was offered a position with the LCMS Ministry to the Armed Forces, as head of the Ministry-by-Mail program.  The program maintained a list of LCMS members serving in the military; prepared literature to send to them; and mailed out materials including the Lutheran Witness with a supplement (Ernie edited the supplement for military members), Portals of Prayer, and other devotional and denominational writings.  Ernie served in this position for eighteen years and retired in 1991.

 

After his retirement from the Ministry to the Armed Forces, Ernie worked as the vice president for the Lutheran Church Extension Fund of the Southern Illinois District, but he returned to his old work with LCMS from 1995-99 when the head of the division retired and a seasoned worker was needed.  Because Ernie's entire 38 years of full-time ministry was military-oriented, he was awarded the silver St. Martin of Tours award by the LCMS on July 15, 1992.  He was the 11th recipient of that award.

 

Nota Bene

 

Silver St. Martin of Tours award for 38 years of military ministry with distinction, LCMS, 1992.

 

Bronze St. Martin of Tours award for 20 years of active duty service as a US Army Chaplain with distinction, LCMS, 1973.

 

Phase 2 Information

 

Biggest missiological issue faced?

While some of Ernie’s work in his military chaplaincy bore a resemblance to pastoral work done in parishes, the issues that soldiers faced often differed from those that might trouble members of a parish congregation.  Soldiers were continuously dealing with separation from their families, which caused great anxiety on both sides.  Soldiers and their families were anxious about each other’s well-being, but also about how their relationships would survive long periods of separation.  Along with this problem came the issue that young soldiers often faced moral temptations during their separation from home and church.  Not only were they separated from loved ones, but sometimes the moral codes of the countries in which they served would be different.  Chaplains simply had to try to counsel the members of their units as best they could and provide spiritual support amid these difficulties.

 

Most significant contribution during missionary service?

Most essentially, providing Word and Sacrament for those who needed it; supporting the religious life of soldiers who were far from home.

 

Connection to today’s mission?

LCMS continues to send chaplains to all branches of the Armed Forces all around the world.  It also distributes mostly the same publications as when Ernie supervised the Ministry-by-Mail program, although e-mail has replaced mail in some cases as the preferred means of distribution.

 

Lessons Learned

• A chaplain must always remain open to the needs of the people served.  Keep your mind and heart open.
• Learn to trust, especially when separated from family and loved ones.  Trust in God can relieve anxiety about safety – Shirley recalls that she never worried about Ernie’s safety when he was making his jumps.  She knew that he was in God’s hands.

 

Best Practices

• “Don’t forget to pray!”
• Get to know your people and spend time with them; get out of the “office,” whatever the “office” may be.  This is important for any pastor but certainly very important for a chaplain.

 

Phase 3 Information

 

Inspiration for entering foreign missions?

Ernie never thought about military chaplaincy when he went into the seminary; he thought he would graduate and become a parish pastor.  When asked about the possibility of military chaplaincy, he did say he would go if called; he was athletic, enjoyed physical activity, and thought the military would be a challenge for him.  His call to the military was a surprise, but one that he embraced wholeheartedly.

 

Quotation by/about or brief story:

 

Ernie writes: “While a twenty-year tour in the military is filled with many day-to-day events, there are two that stand out as memorable and of general interest.”

 

• “The first is the confirmation of my son at the historic Trinity church in Worms,
  Germany.  It was the custom in the 1970s, and perhaps still is, that all of the Lutheran Chaplains in the European Theater would bring the young people that they had prepared for confirmation to Worms for a joint confirmation service.  This was usually done on a Sunday afternoon near Palm Sunday.  Each Chaplain would administer the rite of confirmation to the confirmands whom he had instructed.  Approximately 150 were confirmed in this particular service.  It was a very moving experience to confirm my own son, Charles, in this historic setting.”

 

• “The other incident is a somewhat humorous, though embarrassing, situation that developed in my first general Protestant service in Korea.  Organists are hard to find in the military and especially overseas, but we had recruited a man named Kim for the job.  This was Kim's first service in this particular chapel.  It was also my first service in this chapel.  I did not have a chance to meet Kim before the service.  It probably would not have made much difference, as his English was very limited.  Kim did very well with all of the hymns.  He was a good musician.  However, his knowledge of American music was limited.  When it came to the postlude, Kim had chosen the National Anthem.  Needless to say, in a military chapel, it did not serve the intended purpose.  Everyone stood at attention.  Kim, thinking they needed more time, started a second rendition until one of the chapel attendants informed him that it was time to quit.  I don't know if Kim ever understood ‘why,’ but we convinced him that this was not to be used again as a postlude.”