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| Sgt. Henry Hansen served in the 5th Marine Division on Iwo Jima and helped raise the first flag on Mt. Suribachi. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6789302 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Oliver_Hansen |
Henry Oliver Hansen never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on December 14, 1919 in Somerville, Massachusetts. I was not able to find any census records for him. His mother's name was Madeline Evelley and Henry had one sister and three brothers.
After graduating from high school in 1938, Henry joined the US Marine Corps. Four years later he volunteered for the Paramarines and saw action at Bougainville in 1943. The Paramarines were disbanded in February 1944 and Henry became a sergeant in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division.
Sgt. Hansen landed on Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945, the first day of the battle. His unit was on the left side of the line and was tasked with taking Mt. Suribachi from the enemy.
On the morning of February 23, Sgt. Hansen was part of a 40 man patrol that made it to the crest of the mountain. The officer in charge brought a flag to raise to show that the mountain top was in American hands. Sgt. Hansen was one of the leathernecks who helped set up the flag. A couple of hours later a larger flag was sent over to replace the original smaller one. Sgt. Hansen was originally misidentified as one of the marines in the second flag raising that was made famous by Joe Rosenthal's iconic photo.
Sgt. Hansen was shot by a sniper on March 1, 1945. Coincidentally, PhM2c James Bradley, who is also associated with the Iwo Jima flag raising, was there to treat him. Bradley may not have lived through the experience if it hadn't been for another marine who stopped four Japanese soldiers charging at Bradley. He was not able to revive Sgt. Hansen.
His grave is at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Last year on this date this project profiled B-24 radio operator Robert LaMotte, lost in the Sahara Desert for 15 years. You can read about Robert 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
Thank you, Sgt. Hansen, for the tremendous sacrifice you so selflessly made for our freedom on that horrible island, Iwo Jima. God bless you.
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