Who was Hal
Reichle?
by Roger Cram
On February 20,
1991, Chief Warrant Officer Hal “Hooper” Reichle 27, was killed
while piloting an OH-58 helicopter during the Desert Storm war.
Hal was returning from a reconnaissance mission. Hal's death has
started a slowly spreading movement across the United States
involving an anonymous and secret society performing anonymous
good deeds for perfect strangers. Why? Who was Hal? Why did he
have such an effect on people?
An Unusual Combination
When someone first heard about Hal Reichle and his giving
nature, one often pictured a quiet, mild-mannered individual
considering the priest hood as a calling. Upon learning that
Hal was a rambunctious rascal with a love for life tantamount to
Robin Hood and his merry men, many people were somewhat
mystified. Add to this contrast an Army helicopter pilot
searching the Kuwaiti desert for the enemy knowing that only a
few hours earlier he was behaving like a mischievous elf by
secretly placing money in stranger's pockets in a crowded
open-air market. Most busy public areas require diligence to
deter pick pockets; with Hal your pocket's may well find
themselves replenished.
No, Hal Reichle was not a saint, but rather a cross between John
Wayne and a leprechaun. He was filled with patriotism and loved
America, yet he was an impish prankster, a devil-may-care
adventurer, and never missed an opportunity to do everyday
things in a most unconventional way. At a party, for example,
instead of mixing the ingredients for a martini in a shaker, he
would pour the ingredients in his mouth and then shake his head.
Instead of calling a girl on the phone and inviting her out to
dinner, a messenger would arrive at her door dressed as a
Canterbury squire handing her a scribed invitation impaled on
the end of a sword. Instead of washing a car on a warm and
sunny day, Hal would wash his car during a gully-washer
thunderstorm. "Saves water and creates an instant rinse."
Hal was intense, grandiose, and flamboyant during his quieter
moments. Perhaps some day I will be able to describe him when
filled with energy.
Total strangers would like Hal within a few minutes of meeting
him, but after half an hour of his effervescent personality,
they would be hooked – they had a friend for life. To further
illustrate this, Hal heard about a student at Hiram College
(Hal's alma mater) that was turned down for a Guaranteed Student
Loan by a Warren, Ohio bank. One hour later, Hal walked out of
the bank's president's office shaking hands and laughing with
the chief executive as they patted each other on the back. The
student loan had been approved.
A Special Hidden Spirit
Among the swords and laughter of this cavalier individual there
was hidden a most unusual spirit, for Hal spent much of his time
giving to others, anonymously, under the cloak of incognito and
often accompanied by the stealth of darkness. But when Hal gave
his time or money to someone else, he did not write out a check
and mail it to a charity. Instead most of Hal's good deeds
involved planning, risk, and lots of adventure. Each act was
almost a separate quest, as if rescuing a maiden from a dragon
or fulfilling a favor granted to a fine lady of the realm. Hal's
deeds were deliberately made into a sport, a form of
entertainment for himself, a personal undertaking rewarded by a
special inner peace and satisfaction. Hal also performed his
deeds simply to enrich the amount of goodness in the world. Most
of his chosen recipients were total strangers, and their
financial status was often not a factor in becoming a target for
one of Hal's exploits. Rich or poor, you had an equal chance of
being graced with Hal's adventurous escapades.
Examples of Hal's Escapades
Around 5:00 am on a snowy, winter morning, if you were outside
in such weather and looked carefully into the blizzard, you
could have discerned a figure, dressed in white for camouflage,
shoveling a schoolteacher’s driveway. Once the job was
completed, the shadowy image would quickly disappear leaving no
trace of his identity. A fading sound of giggles, heavily
muffled by thousands of snowflakes, would be the only clue as to
his direction of flight.
While working at a warehouse to earn money for college, Hal
heard about a fellow worker whose car, a beaten-up, old wreck,
had broken down and was beyond fixing. The bank had just called
the fellow worker informing him he was turned down for a $2,000
loan for another used car because of poor credit and low income.
He now had no way to drive to work and was in danger of losing
his job. Five minutes after Hal’s ten-minute coffee break, the
fellow worker received another call from the bank stating his
loan had been mysteriously approved. Next to the pay phone in
the lunchroom was a telephone book opened to the page where the
bank was listed. Next to the phone book was a freshly emptied
coffee cup, still warm, depicting a picture of an apache
helicopter.
On a sunny Sunday morning, shortly after an elderly couple left
their home for church, a pickup truck comically displaying
temporary signs on its doors, arrived in the couple’s driveway.
Written in crayon on shirt cardboards, the signs read “Expert
Lawn Service.” Underneath these words in much smaller print was
“Don’t call us, we’ll find you.” During the next hour, Hal, with
a borrowed lawn mower (the pick-up truck was borrowed too), cut
and trimmed this couple’s lawn. He was unshaven and wore a
droopy fishing hat and sunglasses for disguise. An oversized,
dark-blue work shirt, hanging open and unbuttoned, revealed a
torn t-shirt with a picture of Big Bird from Sesame Street. Hal
slowly shuffled behind the lawn mower like a tired, hunchbacked,
migrant worker. If you listened carefully over the sound of the
mower, you could have heard frequent giggling accompanied by a
little skip or two-step in Hal’s walk, which betrayed his
subterfuge for those astute enough to notice. Then, just before
the couple returned from church, our makeshift immigrant
disappeared as quickly as he had arrived.
Carefully Planned Good Deeds - A
Question of Legality
How did Hal know when this couple went to church? How did he
know when they were to return? How did he know they didn’t have
their own lawn service? How did Hal know the snowy driveway
belonged to a schoolteacher? Who did Hal know at the bank in
order to get the car loan approved? The point being is Hal’s
anonymous acts of kindness were not random, but carefully
planned and executed within specified time frames. Some of his
escapes took weeks of planning. Others were more spontaneous.
Stalking people to watch their movements and learn of their
activities is usually illegal. Such actions are often associated
with predators, burglars, and kidnapers. Such actions are also
associated with careful planners of anonymous good deeds. Is it
against the law to stalk the activities of an elderly couple so
you can cut their grass while they are attending church? It
might very well be, not to mention trespassing on their property
while cutting their grass. One couple returned from vacation to
find their modest house had been freshly painted. There was some
stalking and trespassing involved with that good deed to be
sure.
I’ve heard rumors of the police, at 3:30 am on a foggy Wednesday
morning, unsuccessfully chased a prowler from the back yard of a
private home. Being unable to apprehend the fleeing suspect, the
police returned to the house to check for clues. They found
twenty-five freshly planted flowers, two empty flats, one flat
filled with twelve Johnny Jump-ups, and a small garden spade.
Three blocks away, emerging from the mist, there came a jogger
running at a slow to moderate pace along the sidewalk used by
many joggers in the community. This particular jogger, for an
unknown reason, was giggling and wearing a pair of gardening
gloves. As he jogged around the corner, he discarded his gloves
in a garden of wild flowers and mountain laurel growing on the
corner lot. His giggling continued - go figure.
Checking Out An Area
Most of us drive to work thinking about the day's activities
ahead of us. Hopefully we notice the spring flowers and the
sunrise on our way and the sunset on our return. As Hal Reichle
drove along, he not only noticed the sunsets and flowers, but
also carefully studied the surrounding area. His head would fill
with little notes: "...that garage needs painting; that house
needs flowers; that person could probably use some groceries,
that yard needs mowed."
Hal's unusual lust for life, for fun, for adventure, and for
being a harmless prankster are cavalier qualities, when mixed
with his natural goodness and his love for mankind, created a
most unusual man. In part, other than attacking windmills, he
resembles Don Quixote, taking on any quest, even if impossible,
to help almost anyone, "...to walk into hell for a heavenly
cause." As previously mentioned, Hal also possessed Robin Hood
characteristics, and several times his adventures required many
of his friends to accompany him - his band of merry men. Hal
also had an enchanted elf-like quality about him, often knowing
things through premonition alone, often disappearing like a
ninja, and frequently accomplishing things one would think
required magic - a most intriguing, mysterious, and wonderful
individual.
Carrying On the Magical Tradition -
SSSSH!
Hal is a perfect example of how a controversial rascal, one
likely to be reprimanded for setting off fire crackers or toilet
papering a tree on Halloween, can still harbor a loving and
giving heart. Perhaps we should all possess less of a tendency
to judge others, for there may be many mischievous scallywags
out there possessing a spirit of gold.
How did Hal have such influence over people? I can only state
that Hal's personality carried about it an easily-detected glow
of safety and reassurance. It somehow exuded great trust and a
peaceful feeling of well-being. Even more remarkable was a
magical sense of warmth and wonderment that simmered within the
hearts of people Hal was around, as if the aura from an
enchanted sorcerer's incantation was enshrouding them with
virtue.
Always smiling, usually laughing, frequently clowning around
with his silly antics, Hal made everyone he came in contact with
feel good about themselves. Mystifying to be sure; I suspect
even magical - as if a frolicking sprite whose destiny was to
show others how to spread goodness by creating fun-filled and
adventurous exploits. If true; it worked!
When Hal was killed in 1991, I decided to continue his anonymous
giving to others coupled with his sense of adventure. In this
way, Hal's good deeds would continue and his loving spirit would
live on to benefit the lives of thousands. After forming SSSSH
(Secret Society of Serendipitous Service to Hal) in 2003, people
all over the United States are starting to do anonymous good
deeds for total strangers in Hal's spirit. SSSSH has come to
pass and is soliciting your participation! What a wonderful
tribute to an almost mystical person, Hal Reichle, a man from
which legends are made.
