When the class of ’55 gathered to declare branch choices, many were apprehensive since their selections depended on class standing. There was no such anxiety for Gerald George Chikalla. “Chik” had chosen his branch even before he took the oath as a plebe. If ever an Infantryman was born to the calling, this was the man.
He was born to Erich and Evelyn (Kissner) Chikalla in Milwaukee, WI. When he graduated from high school in 1949, he went to Purdue but joined the Army in June 1950. The next year, with a competitive appointment, he entered USMA with the class of 1955, and the legend took root.
Chik came out of the north woods with a full set of outdoorsmans skills, and he saw West Point as just a place to sharpen them and pick up a few tactical pointers on his way to an Infantry platoon. That was his focus the whole four years, so the intrusions of the Tactical Department and the demands of academics were only minor distractions along his way. He studied diligently but made time for honing the knife he made or practicing archery with the bow he made, and even his recreation was tied to the outdoors. He camped and fished in the Hudson highlands, as he did everywhere his travels took him.
Chik was a legendary figure for many reasons, not the least of which was that he was the strongest man any of us ever knew. His E-2 company mates all recognized it long before we had to face him in plebe wrestling, having seen him do push-ups with a roommate on his back. He played football plebe year but abandoned it for his real love, swimming. In free-style, mostly distance events, he won more than any muscle-and-bone sinker should have. The classic view of the long, slender swimmers physique made Chiks 50-inch chest seem a bluff object in the water, but he overcame it with sheer power and endless practice laps.
He met Jessie in spring of his cow year and shortly concluded that life would be incomplete without her at his side. They were married after graduation on the 23rd of July.
Chik took both Airborne and Ranger training in stride and got his platoon. The next few years saw him honing his skills, moving frequently, and building a family with Jessie. Daughter Patricia was born at Ft. Benning in 1957, and Susanna joined the family in 1959 at Bamberg, Germany, where Chik commanded a company in the 3rd Infantry Division.
In 1962, when Vietnam was barely on the horizon for most of us, Chik was already there as an adviser to the Vietnamese Rangers. Career development followed as he went to Command & General Staff College and then to Indiana University for a master’s degree in Physical Education in 1966. Then it was back for another year in Vietnam with the 1st Infantry Division, followed by a tour in the Tactical Department. In 1970 he returned for his third combat tour, this time as a province senior advisor for 22 months, ending four years in Vietnam.
In 1972 he took command of the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry at Ft. Campbell, KY. That summer, he took his battalion to West Point on a short-notice mission in support of the Corps that further enhanced his reputation as an inspiration to cadets and soldiers alike.
Battalion command gave way to a tour in the Pentagon until 1976 when he went to the Royal College of Defense Studies in London, one of a select few American officers to attend this premier school. Following that he returned for a second tour in Germany, as the Frankfurt community commander. He returned to the States in 1979 as Deputy Chief of Staff, XVIII Airborne Corps.
To this point his whole career had been a seminar in leadership grounded in the warrior ethic. His imposing visage and gruff manner might have tempted a lesser man to command by intimidation, but Chik was larger than that. He was a consummate professional who led by example at all levels of command. He knew intuitively that, to accomplish the mission, he had to take care of his people, but that didn’t mean coddling to him. He taught his people well and put them to the test, trusting them, growing them, and earning their trust in return.
He could have gone fishing in 1981, but he chose a post as Professor of Military Science and Commandant of Cadets at Norwich University in Northfield, VT Already a role model to a generation of soldiers, he doubled down at Norwich, and the retention rate of those commissioned in the four years he held forth rivaled that of the service academies.
He retired from the Army in 1985 only because statute demanded it. He was a master parachutist. His decorations include the Silver Star, three Legions of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, six Bronze Stars, four Meritorious Service Medals, 27 Air Medals, Army & Air Force Commendation Medals, Vietnam Service Medal (nine campaigns) and various foreign awards, including five Vietnam Crosses of Gallantry. And no Purple Heart; though twice wounded in combat, he never claimed it.
He spent the next 21 years as assistant football coach at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH, and he was active in civic and church organizations. When he died, a host of those who served with him gathered to bury his ashes at West Point, but the legend lives on.
In October 2009, Norwich University, having already conferred on him an honorary doctorate, enshrined Colonel Chikalla on their Ernest Harmon Memorial Wall, an honor bestowed on those who have served Norwich with distinction.
If such a wall stood at West Point, he would be on it, but no matter. He is forever enshrined in our hearts and in the hearts of all whose lives he touched.