Sweat & Sawdust

Born on a farm in Ferdinand, Ind., in 1909, Victor J. Hedinger was a hardworking carpenter and dedicated family man who suffered tragedy, pain and loss as a child. After his father died when he was 11, he helped his mother and seven siblings endure hardships that lingered through the Great Depression. As a married father of two, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1944, serving in China with the 315th Air Service Group, which supported the famed Flying Tigers. After World War II, Victor returned home to raise his family and become part of the greatest generation of Americans. A solid, muscular man who worked in furniture factories most of his life, he helped the United States become the world's manufacturing superpower and left a legacy that the nation can learn from if it is to return to broad-based prosperity. This is my grandfather's story.