Elmer Schwartzkopf (1920-2015) Papers

Rev. Elmer Schwartzkopf was approached in 1942 during his first year at seminary by Rev. Arnold Gebhardt, who had known him and his brother as little boys in China where he had been a missionary with Rev. Schwartkopf's father. Rev. Gebhardt was working for the Western District of the LCMS, and was to see if the area around Lambert Airport should have a Lutheran Church. Rev. Schwartzkopf and his brother helped with a religious survey of the Edmundson Terrace area, going house to house. Rev. Schwartzkopf then worked to originate a congregation called Peace. The first official worship service was the first Sunday in January 1943. Ultimately, Rev. Schwartzkopf became the first pastor of Peace Lutheran Church. He graduated from seminary on July 13, 1945, was married at Peace on July 15, 1945, and was ordained and installed there on November 11, 1945. He left Peace to accept a call to Saint Matthew Lutheran Church, Ernestville, Missouri as of June 30, 1949. He then submitted an application to the Armed Services Commission in respond to Synod's appeal for volunteers to enter the service as chaplain. He was inducted at Scott AFB, Illinois in July 1951. (This information was taken from Rev. Schwartzkopf's history of Peace that is included in this collection.)