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Remembering Pvt. Hedtke

Fallen WWII soldier to be honored in Iola

Hedtke

Sheveland-Taylor American Legion Post 14 will present a ceremony in Iola to honor Pvt. William D. Hedtke.

The ceremony will be held at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 12, at Veterans Memorial Park.

Hedtke, the son of Walter and Emelie Hedtke, grew up in the Town of Harrison and was killed in action during World War II in the Netherlands.

He entered the U.S. Army on March 26, 1942 and was assigned to Battery B, 319th Glider Artillery Battalion, and 82nd Airborne Division. He was wounded on June 23, 1944, at Normandy, France, during the D-Day invasion and received a Purple Heart.

On Sept. 18, 1944, gliders took off towed by C-47s from Cottesmore Airfield in England for Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands, Hedtke was on one of the gliders and was reported as missing in action later that day.

The Army listed Hedtke as killed in action on Oct. 14, 1944, but his remains were not recovered. His father and mother were awarded his second Purple Heart posthumously in December 1944 for his death in Operation Market Garden.

In June 1945, Canadian Grave Registration personnel recovered a set of American remains near Groesbeek, Netherlands that were given to American Graves Registration Command. After unsuccessful efforts by the AGRC to identify the remains, the unidentified remains were interred as an unknown, X-1230 Margraten at the Netherlands American Cemetery at Margraten, Netherlands.

On July 7, 1960, Hedtke’s name was engraved on a monument by the American Battlefield Monument Commission on the Wall of the Missing at the United States Cemetery at Margraten, Netherlands, which lists 1,722 names.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in Virginia on Nov. 15, 2019, notified some family members that Hedtke was identified on Oct. 12, 2019, 75 years after he was killed. Scientists from DPAA used dental records and DNA to identify Hedtke’s remains.

On Nov. 25, 2019, the DPAA sent out a news release notifying the general public of Hedtke’s identification.
Hedtke was to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery at Arlington, Virginia on May 18, 2020, which was put on hold until Sept. 17 because of COVID-19. The burial dates have been postponed several times and he now scheduled to be buried Aug. 30, 2021.

Hedtke’s name was added to the Memoriam Monument in Iola in 2004 and dedicated on Memorial Day in 2005 at Veterans Memorial Park. After he is buried, a bronze plaque will be added to the Gold Star.

Recipients Monument, which honors those killed in action during war time, with the date of his burial.

Hedtke’s name and information has also been engraved on the Walk of Honor Monument for receiving two Purple Hearts.

Hedtke’s family members have been invited to the ceremony, along with the 14 living honorees on the Walk of Honor Monument. The public is invited to help honor Hedtke and are encouraged to bring their own seating. Masks will be required.

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