13. ROBERT S. HEDMAN, offered by Courtney Wheeler:

Robert Samuel Hedman was born and raised in Connecticut. He moved to Hampton in 1947, and worked for the Hampton Water Works. When he was in high school, he worked in a movie theater in Connecticut. He was very compassionate and kindhearted. If he saw a child who did not have enough money to go to a movie, he would make up the difference and let the child in.

His sister described him as outgoing, and fun-loving. Robert always had a good word for everyone. He looked for jokes to tell and made light of most situations. He loved music and played the guitar and harmonica. Robert Hedman was a good son who loved his mother and his country.

When action began in Korea, Mr. Hedman tried to enlist in the Army through the Portsmouth office. He was refused because his lungs were scarred. They thought he may have had tuberculosis as a child. He went to Concord, NH and passed the physical there. He joined the Army and soon made rank of Corporal.

Robert was sent to Korea and served as a radio operator. He wrote to his mother every chance he had. He wanted her to know that he was doing fine and she need not worry. In 1953 Corporal Hedman was wounded twice in his legs and received two purple hearts. He was hospitalized for a while in an Army hospital in Korea. His legs required extensive surgery to heal properly and he was to be sent back to the states. His orders were lost and he was sent back to the front lines because the Army needed radio operators. Soon after returning to combat, Corporal Robert Hedman was reported missing in action in 1954. He was not yet thirty years old. His body has never been recovered. Last year [1993] Robert's mother died, at the age of 92. Perhaps now she has finally found her son.