An American Hero (Stu Hedley

Chief Petty Officer U.S. Navy Retired October 21, 1921 - August 4, 2021

By Holly Shaffner

Every month WWII Veteran and Pearl Harbor Survivor Stu Hedley opened his San Diego Veterans Magazine like he was opening a gift on Christmas Day. This month will be different. Chief Petty Officer U.S. Navy retired Electrician’s Mate Stuart Noble Hedley died from COVID-related illnesses in August. He was given a memorial service fit for a hero.

The service was held on the flight deck of the USS Midway, a ship he visited often and felt connected to since he served in the Battle of the Midway. Close to 400 people attended in person and 200+ more people viewed the celebration of life via livestream. He was given full military honors with gun salutes and bugler playing taps, a four-plane missing man formation flyover, two-bell ceremony, his family received his American Flag that flew over the USS Pearl Harbor, local organizations spoke about his service after the military, and a beautiful rendition of “Over the Rainbow” was played Hawaiian style with a ukulele. There was a display of his iconic Pearl Harbor jacket and hat, and his Pearl Harbor artifacts and memorabilia.

At 99-years-young, Hedley led a very active and full life. He was looking forward to celebrating his 100th birthday in October and going to Hawaii for the 80th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks in December.

He will be missed by his family, friends, fellow veterans, and San Diego community. It is estimated that he shared his WWII and Pearl Harbor story with more than 200,000 people – stories you cannot find in history books. His legacy will be defined by educating hundreds of thousands of people about WWII, but also by his character - he never met a stranger, never said a negative word about anyone, accepted everyone, and did it with a bear hug and an infectious smile.

His final words to the thousands of students he spoke to were, “Stay in School!” “Learn to Love One Another” “Keep America Alert” and “Freedom is Not Free - Our freedom could be lost in one generation.” Wise words from a man who gave over 20 years to his country, survived 13 combat engagements, and swam through fire and flames to get to shore on Dec. 7th, 1941.

Photo by Zach Coco

Photos by: Teri Simas

God Bless Stu and may this hero Rest in Peace. To view the full Celebration of Life video, go to:

https://tinyurl.com/yw6e2mn2

Stu was our Veteran of the Month in December 2019 and was featured on the cover. To read his full Pearl Harbor story, go to: https://tinyurl.com/ydu3ay9j