Paul Heggemeir is home again — and likely to stay this time.
Accompanied by a procession involving the Patriot Guard Riders, Heggemeir’s remains were repatriated back to Blakley Cemetery near Madison on Saturday after laying in state briefly at Eureka’s Koup Funeral Home.
Heggemeir initially enlisted in the US Army and served at Fort Riley as part of the Second US Cavalry in 1936 before trasnferring to the Army Air Corps, the predecessor of the US Air Force, the following year. He served in the Philippines for two years before Allied forces surrendered to Japan in April 1942. Heggemeir was among the soldiers in the Bataan Death March and eventually succumbed to injuries in late June 1942.
Heggemeir was buried in a common grave. His remains were returned to family and laid to rest in Madison, but he was disinterred recently after remains from several soldiers buried in the Philippines were identified, including Heggemeir.
Saturday’s repatriation ceremonies follow similar events in Emporia, including Sgt. John Herrick last year and Glenn White in 2021.
