John W. Heiman U.S. army from 1942-1945

Biography by Jayc Darnall, Luke Cheney, and Charlie Burke

“Respect the American flag and the freedom that we have due to men and women who sacrificed their lives for this country.” That is what John W. Heiman would want our generation to know. We had the opportunity to learn about John and his amazing story by interviewing his daughter, Bonnie Cheney. John Heiman, a World War II veteran, is also the great-grandfather of Luke Cheney.

On November 29th of 1919, John W. Heiman was born into a family with five brothers and four sisters on a moderately small farm south of Beloit. His parents were Anton and Cathy Heiman. In John’s early years, he taught himself how to align the front ends of cars, and he enjoyed working on the farm. He attended a country school and was a fairly good student; he was not a troublemaker. He later graduated from Beloit High School but did not pursue a college education.

Soon after graduating, John was drafted into the Army at the age of twenty-one for World War II. He had to put his son up for adoption because his wife ran off, and he was very scared that he would not return to his home due to the war.

After entering the war two to three years in, stationed in the Aleutian Islands, John had only received basic training, and he was quite scared that he might not survive. During the war, the men lived in bunkers and ate mostly rice and macaroni. In fact, when John returned home, he would never eat rice or macaroni again because he had eaten so much of it when he was at war. John and the other men often wore green uniforms during their service. The commanding officers and their rules were very strict. In John’s free time, he would often be found writing letters and notes to his many siblings.

John was physically placed in the Aleutian Islands, where it was bitterly cold, and if the men were not suited with the proper attire, they would be in danger of receiving frostbite. He often traveled by plane or by an old military Jeep. When he traveled in a Jeep, he often drove around the mountain slopes and on the edges of them where it was dangerous, and he could have easily fallen off the edge to his death. As a result, John was afraid of heights when he returned home after the war.

During the war, John did not have to go to a foreign country but did come into contact with civilians. Also, while he was stationed in the Army, he made several good friends but did not keep in touch with them. As soon as the war ended, John felt very relieved, and he returned home because he was not interested in staying in the military. Unfortunately, he later suffered from PTSD from seeing people wounded and deceased.

John then returned to Beloit where there was not anyone waiting for him. He worked on cars, doing front-end alignments. He later met his spouse Lou Belle at a dance and then went on to marry her in 1954. They were blessed to have five children and twelve grandchildren. John joined the VFW and the American Legion in Beloit and some of his hobbies included farming and gardening.

“Freedom means being able to live in the U.S. without being persecuted for people’s beliefs,” is what John told his daughter before he died.

That is what freedom means to John W. Heiman, and he is one of the men who helped secure the freedoms we have today. We admire John for his service and for many other reasons and are proud to share his story.