Hedekin was born on December 9, 1865, in
Fort Wayne, Indiana. He graduated 14th in a class of 44 from the
United States Military Academy (USMA) at
West Point, New York, in 1888. Among his classmates there were several men who would, like March himself, eventually attain the rank of
general officer, such as
James W. McAndrew,
William M. Morrow,
William Robert Dashiell,
Robert Lee Howze,
Peter Charles Harris,
Eli Alva Helmick,
Charles Hedges McKinstry,
Henry Jervey,
William Voorhees Judson,
John Louis Hayden,
Edward Anderson,
William H. Hart,
Peyton C. March and
William S. Peirce. Hedekin was commissioned into the
3rd Cavalry Regiment. He did frontier duty from his commissioning in 1888 to 1895. He went on detached service with the Intercontinental Railway Commission from March 1891 to May 1892, something which took him through
Central America. Hedekin served along the border with Mexico during the
Garza Revolution. After serving at the
Jefferson Barracks Military Post for three years, he was stationed at
Fort Ethan Allen,
Fort Sheridan, and
Fort Myer. Hedekin was sent to the
Philippines, serving there for two years and returning in 1902. He then was sent to
Fort Apache, Arizona. He served again in the Philippines from 1906 to 1908 at
Fort Stotsenburg. After returning, Hedekin's regiment was stationed at
Fort Sam Houston and
Fort Clark, Texas. On his promotion to the rank of
major on September 3, 1911, Hedekin was transferred to the
15th Cavalry Regiment, commanding the Second Squadron. He completed a special field officers course at
Fort Leavenworth, and then he graduated from the
Mounted Service School at
Fort Riley. He then graduated from the
United States Army War College in 1912. Hedekin was stationed with the Militia Division of the
United States Department of War, and he rescued stranded American tourists in Europe from August to October 1914. He went with the
4th Cavalry Regiment to the
Schofield Barracks in 1916, and he assumed command of the
13th Cavalry Regiment in Fort Riley in July 1917, three months after the
American entry into World War I. Hedekin took the regiment to the border with Mexico, though he was personally recalled to Washington shortly afterward. Hedekin was promoted to
brigadier general on June 26, 1918. He commanded the 155th Depot Brigade along with replacements at
Camp Lee. He then commanded the
15th Cavalry Regiment in October 1919, and then the
7th Cavalry Regiment at
Fort Bliss. Hedekin retired on August 5, 1920. In retirement, Hedekin and his family moved to
Bethesda, Maryland, living there for seven years. They sold their house in 1930 to go on an extended vacation in Europe, though they had to return to the U.S. in 1931 because hedekin became ill. He was admitted to
Walter Reed Army Medical Center for four months, and he and his family left again for Europe afterward, staying until October 1933. Hedekin died in
Washington, D.C., on January 30, 1944. He is buried at
Arlington National Cemetery. ==References==