| The Highland
Township Historical Society THE CHASE & HEFFELBOWER FAMILIES |
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Melvin C. Heffelbower, Jr., eldest son of Melvin C. and Luella (Chase) Heffelbower, was born October 1, 1924. He attended the Highland schools and Milford High School, graduating in 1942. He was thereafter employed at the General Motors Proving Ground in Milford until entering the U.S. Army in March, 1943. Pfc. Heffelbower was assigned to Company D of the 2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion and was killed in action on D-Day, June 6, 1944, as his unit stormed Omaha Beach in Normandy, climbing the cliffs to destroy the German guns at Pointe du Hoc. Initially interred at Saint Laurent, Normandy, his body was brought home by military escort and buried in Highland Cemetery [Note 1].
[1] - The history of the 2nd Ranger Battalion is told in Robert W. Black, The Battalion: The Dramatic Story of the 2nd Ranger Battalion In World War II, Stackpole Books (2006). An appendix in that work, at page 299, notes the service of Pfc. Melvin C. Heffelbower, his death in combat and his receipt of the Purple Heart. See also Clara Mae Beach, Our Highland Heritage, pp. 99-101, for an account of Heffelbower's service, death and funeral.