Corydon native COL (R) Charles “Charlie” Eckart ’65 has been named as one of 15 inductees this year to the Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame (IMVHOF).
Eckart is a member of the 2023 class of inductees, the 10th class to join the IMVHOF, a non-profit organization that honors veterans for their military achievements and community contributions. The induction ceremony for this year’s group of veterans will be Nov. 10, bringing the total number of veterans recognized by the organization to 143.
A 1960 graduate of Corydon Central High School, Eckart hoped to attend the U.S. Military Academy, commonly known as West Point, but was rejected on his first attempt.
“I enrolled in Hanover College, but at the same time, I tried a second time to get into West Point,” Eckart said. “On the second time around, I was successful. Senator Vance Hartke nominated me to go to West Point, and I was admitted under his nomination.”
Eckart began at West Point in 1961. He said there’s “no doubt” his time at West Point shaped him as a person, with several key teachings clear in his memory decades later.
“There’s an emphasis on doing your duty and doing it honorably so that everything you do is above-board and you’re being honest and honorable in everything you do,” he recalled. “And then secondly, it’s doing it to further the goals and ideals of the country … And guiding a
