Career
Hedrick joined the Army from Riverton, West Virginia in September 1940, and by March 27, 1945 was serving as a technical sergeant in Company I, 194th Glider Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division. On that day and the next, near Lembeck, Germany, he repeatedly charged through heavy fire to attack German positions and alone followed a group of German soldiers when they retreated into a castle. When the Germans indicated that they wished to surrender, Hedrick and four other men entered the castle, only to be fired upon by a German self-propelled gun.
Hedrick was fatally wounded, but successfully covered the withdrawal of his mentor
Hedrick, aged 26 at his death, was buried in North Fork Memorial Cemetery, Riverton, West Virginia. Although mortally wounded.