 |
| Lt. Grant Hansen was a B-24 co-pilot for the 5th Bombardment Group in the Pacific. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131574745/grant-n-hansen https://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-24/42-110137/b24-lili-jo-toddy-crew-pose.html |
Grant Nelson Hansen never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
Announcement: Later this month I will be starting a project that will result in the stories of all 400,000 plus of the World War 2 fallen at one online location. There will be an accompanying smart phone app to allow users visiting any war memorial to scan the fallen serviceman's name and be linked to his story. Watch this blog or join the WW2 Fallen 100 Facebook page to learn of upcoming details.
Grant was born on January 6, 1920 in Vernal, Utah. His parents Nelson and Henrietta were also both born in Utah. His father's parents were from Denmark, while his mother's parents were from England. His father worked as a bookkeeper and died in 1928 of a cerebral embolism. After that his mother found work as a nurse. Grant had one older brother and five older sisters. By 1940 Grant had completed one year of college. He was living with his widowed mother and worked as a truck driver.
He enlisted in the Army Air Forces in February 1943 where he was trained as a bomber pilot. In March 1944 he married Wilma Swett. He was sent to the South Pacific in July 1944. He became a second lieutenant and co-pilot in the 23rd Bombardment Squadron, 5th Bombardment Group, 13th Air Force, which was equipped with B-24 Liberators.
The 5th BG was based in Pitu Airfield on Morotai Island when it was given the assignment of bombing Japanese warships in Brunei Bay on November 16, 1944. Lt. Nelson was the co-pilot of B-24 44-40962. It was his twelfth bombing mission. Once the bombers arrived over the target, they encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire. Lt. Nelson's plane suffered damage to engine #2 and the #2 fuel cell but was still able to complete its bomb run. The damage caused the bomber to reduce speed. It was also leaking fuel and the crew calculated that they would not be able to return to base. They bailed before the plane crashed into the Pacific. Four of the airmen were rescued the next day but Lt. Hansen and five others perished.
His cenotaph grave is at Memory Grove Memorial in Salt Lake City, Utah. His widow remarried and died in 1986.
Lt Hansen's story is also told at https://www.fold3.com/page/85022840-grant-n-hansen/stories as part of the Stories Behind the Stars project, Utah pilot.
EARLY WYNN
Grant Hansen shared the same birthdate as Early Wynn, the hall of fame baseball pitcher. Wynn was born in Alabama. He was a good enough baseball player as a teen that he was offered a contract by the Washington Senators and played in the minor leagues a couple of years before the Senators added him to their pitching staff.
 |
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Wynn |
Last year on this date I profiled B-24 bombardier Harold Spink. You can read about Harold here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
No comments:
Post a Comment