FREEBURG — In late December 2024, a new sign went up outside of Freeburg on Highway 63 honoring Staff Sgt. Paul A. Hasenbeck, who was designated as Missing In Action (MIA) in 1966 while serving in the Vietnam War. While the sign may be new, the idea of naming the highway after Hasenbeck had been the dream of the American Legion Post 317 Ladies Auxiliary President Virginia Bax for over a decade.

Bax grew up in a military family, and her husband retired after 32 years of service. Bax has been the Ladies Auxiliary President since 2011, and the idea for naming the highway in honor of Hasenbeck began back then.

“I went to school with a boy in Vienna who was killed in Vietnam,” Bax explained. “There is a sign on Highway 42 in honor of him. Just seeing the sign, I just thought it was so touching.”

Bax tried to get the process started in 2020.

“MoDOT (the Missouri Department of Transportation) said that it was too expensive and would cost us $3,700,” Bax said. “We didn’t have that much money to spend on it, so we just put the project on hold.”

This idea never went away, and Bax kept trying to figure out a way to make the idea work.

“It was something I really wanted to do for this post,” Bax said.

Then in 2023, Bax ran into State Rep. Bruce Sassmann at the Freeburg Parish Picnic, and she asked him if he could help.

“He asked me to send him an email with all of the information, and with the help of my daughter, I did. Within a couple of days, his secretary was emailing and texting back and forth,” Bax explained. “Sassmann got it going, and it just took off.”

House Bill #2797, the “Memorial Highway and Bridges Act,” passed the Missouri House and Senate unanimously “as a way to recognize the dedication and selflessness of law enforcement officers, military personnel, and other community leaders.”

Bill #2797 allows signs to be made, installed, and maintained by MoDOT, with the cost being covered by the highway department or private donations.

“Everything happened really fast,” Bax said. “It took just a little over a year. Just everything fell into place. Once I got the ball rolling, it went really well.”

Meanwhile, the Hasenbeck family is still waiting for proof of what happened to their loved one. Staff Sgt. Hasenbeck entered the United States Army in 1966 and served in Company D, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 196th Light Infantry Brigade in South Vietnam. He volunteered for a mission that required an M60 machine gun-qualified gunner and climber aboard a sampan on the Tra Bong River near the Quang Ngai Province, making a return trip from a forward combat patrol. During the journey, one of the sampan’s developed a leak and never returned to base camp. A search party was organized, but the four men, including Hasenbeck, were never found.

His brother, Larry Hasenbeck, writes: “Our family will never forget the fateful Sunday morning after the last mass when Father Tempe and an Officer of the US Army came to our house to tell us that Paul and his companions were missing. We were briefed as to the circumstances surrounding the incident and were assured that more definite information and Paul’s exact status would be short in coming. Days, weeks, months, and 58 years later, we are still waiting for positive proof of what happened.”

The family was humbled and grateful when the American Legion Post 317 rechartered and changed the post name to Paul A Hasenbeck Post 317. They felt the same way about the highway signs honoring Hasenbeck. The family said the outpouring of love and sympathy from the community has been overwhelming from soon after the news until now, as people find new ways to honor Paul.

When the Hasenbeck family was first asked about putting up the signs in honor of Staff Sgt. Paul A. Hasenbeck, they insisted that the sign not only be for the family member they lost but also include wording that honored all POWs and MIA soldiers.

They want people who drive through Freeburg and see the sign to know that it honors and recognizes all the men and women who served, especially those who went to war to serve their country and paid the ultimate price.