Welcome to the Connellsville Canteen!
An Initiative of the Fayette County Cultural Trust
Helen King
(Helen) Madelyn King grew up on the south side of Connellsville and graduated from Immaculate Conception School. She was the daughter of Peter J. and Mary Agnes King, sister to Edward M. King. Their home was 1211 Race Street, Connellsville.
(Helen) Madelyn King entered active military service in the Navy on October 7, 1942 and was discharged on April 30, 1946.
When (Helen) Madelyn was filling out her paper work for the WAVES, there was a line that said, "Enter your first and second choice of Duty Stations." She thought about that for a while and decided that she would like to go just about anywhere, since the only place away from home that she had ever been was Washington, DC. So she wrote on the form, "Any place, except Washington, DC."
She then spent ten (10) weeks at NTS in Stillwater, Oklahoma in training. After basic training in Oklahoma, they promptly sent her to... Washington, DC. (So much for seeing the world.) When she arrived in DC, they did not have WAVE quarters ready, so the Navy girls stayed in temporary quarters at one of the finest hotels in Washington, DC -- The Willard Hotel. It is still in business and it is a beautiful, grand hotel.
(Helen) Madelyn King was assigned to the office of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and worked in the Division of Naval Communications (DNC). During her service she was promoted and held the rank of Chief Yeoman (CY) at the time of her discharge. Although much of what she did in the Navy is apparently classified (her job title, her supervisor's name, her duties, etc.) she worked in the Decoding Center.
While working in the Decoding Center, she met Edwin Heider, who had just returned from his tour of duty in the South Pacific for the Marines. He was assigned to the 3rd Guard Company. One of his duties was to serve as guard for the Navy's Decoding Center where he met (Helen) Madelyn King. Shortly before their discharge from the military service they were married in the Navy Chapel in Washington, D.C.
(Helen) Madelyn King Heider died September 13, 1981. She is buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, which is an American military cemetery located in St. Louis County, Missouri, on the banks of the Mississippi River.
