COMMENTARY
If West Virginians are looking for an example of a life well lived, they need look no farther than Ken Hechler.
Hechler, who died Saturday night at age 102, had so many accomplishments he could be the answer to about a dozen Golden Horseshoe questions.
Also read: Ken Hechler was a true West Virginia character.
As important as what he got done in life, though, was how he did it – with joy and a sense of purpose.
Hechler, who grew up on Long Island, had already done plenty before he even got to West Virginia. He was an Army combat historian during World War II, interviewed Nazi leaders before the Nuremberg war crimes trial and was author of the best-selling “The Bridge at Remagen,” about a battle he had witnessed.
Hechler went to work in Harry Truman’s White House before hearing about an opening on the political science staff at what was then Marshall College in Huntington. He wasn’t there long before running for launching a successful run for Congress, where he served for two decades.
He was the only member of Congress to participate in the 1965 march to Selma, Ala., with Martin Luther King Jr. He also was one of the key forces behind the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969.
He left his seat in Congress for an unsuccessful run at governor, but got a second act when he was elected to Secretary of State, another position that he kept for four terms. Visitors to his office, guarded by stuffed black bears, were likely to be presented with a copy of “The Bridge at Remagen.”
Even after he no longer held office, Hechler remained politically active. He joined marches against mountaintop removal coal mining, even into his 90s.
West Virginians might have seen Hechler tooling around in his trademark red Jeep with its “Ken do” license plate. That was a political tool to let people know at a glance it was Hechler, but also to show that although he took his political life seriously, he could do it while having fun.
West Virginia is its people. With Ken Hechler’s death, our state has lost a unique and consistent voice. But his example will live on.