Ssgt. Paul Arthur Heggemeier

Paul Arthur Heggemeier was born in Nashville, Illinois, on December 21, 1915, the son of Paul Gerhart and Zella Ann (Wilson) Heggemeier. Early in his life, his parents moved the family first to Oklahoma and then to Kansas, settling in Madison from El Dorado when he was about seven years old. He attended Madison public schools and, as a young boy, joined the Methodist church, where he regularly participated in Sunday school and church services. He was baptized on April 30, 1916, at St. Paul's Evangelical Church in Pinckneyville, by his uncle, the Reverend O.W. Heggemeier.

In February 1936, Sgt. Heggemeier began his military career by enlisting in the Second U.S. Cavalry at Fort Riley, Kansas. The following year, he transferred to the Air Corps. His service overseas began on October 4, 1939, when he was deployed to the Philippine Islands.

By 1941, he had attained the rank of Staff Sergeant, serving with the 3rd Pursuit Squadron at Nichols Field, Manila. He was later reassigned to the headquarters squadron of the Air Forces U.S. Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), under the command of General Douglas MacArthur.

He remained in Manila in September 1941 and was present at Nichols Field during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. The War Department initially reported him "missing in action on Bataan" on May 7, 1942. For three years, his family received no word of his fate. On June 25, 1945, the War Department confirmed that Staff Sergeant Heggemeier had passed away on June 29, 1942, while a Japanese prisoner on the Philippine Island, with the cause of death attributed to malaria and malnutrition.

Staff Sergeant Heggemeier's remains were initially recovered and buried with military honors in 1945. However, in the years following, additional remains were identified as belonging to SSgt. Heggemeier. This necessitated the exhumation of his remains from Blakely Cemetery on July 16, 2025, for further anthropological analysis in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Now, after a meticulous and successful identification process, Staff Sergeant Heggemeier's remains are finally ready to return to their ultimate, final resting place, fully intact, securing the promise of his final homecoming.

Staff Sergeant Heggemeier was survived by his parents; one sister, Mrs. Betty Kimberlin; and two brothers, Pvt. Charles T. Heggemeier, and Billy E. Heggemeier.

Graveside services with full military honors will be held at 1:00 P.M., Saturday, October 11, 2025, at Blakely Cemetery, Madison.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Greenwood County All Veterans Memorial. Contributions may be sent in care of Koup Family Funeral Home, PO Box 595, Eureka KS 67045, which is overseeing arrangements. Condolences may be left for the family online, at koupfunerals.com.