Captain Hemenway was a veteran of World War II. In Korea, he was a member of Battery A, 76th Anti-Aircraft Artillery (Automatic Weapons) Battalion, U.S. Army. He died of other causes on 25 June 1953 on the naval hospital ship USS Repose (AH-16).

Hemenway was awarded the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation, the Republic of Korea War Service Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.