Robert John Hanson
MilitaryL to R Front Row: S/Sgt Cecil N Scott, Altoona, PA., Ball Turret. S/Sgt Clarence B Winchell, Oak Park, IL. L Waist gunner. S/Sgt John P Quinlan, Yonkers, NY., Tail gunner. S/Sgt Casimer A Nastal, Detroit, MI. R Waist gunner.
NARA Ref 342-FH-3A06266-23971AC.
Assigned to 324BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. T/Sgt Robert J Hanson, radio operator on the 'Memphis Belle'. Native of Washington state, he entered the military in 1941 and in 1942 was assigned to be the radio operator aboard the B-17, the 'Memphis Belle'. The 'Belle' and her crew would ultimately become the first to fly all of it's required twenty-five missions in the European theater of WWII, this being the number required to be sent back to the United States. Her last mission was flown on 17-May-43. Throughout the plane's 25 missions, he would keep an extensive logbook which at one time saved his life catching a bullet which otherwise would have struck him.
Awards: DFC, AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Post war: Remained in USAF, rising to 2nd Lieutenant. Returned to Washington and worked for a food distribution company and later retired with his wife to New Mexico.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Memphis Belle
- Unit: 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Walla Walla, Washington | 25 May 1920 | |
Enlisted |
Milwaukee, WI, USA | 24 September 1941 | |
Died |
Albuquerque, NM, USA | 1 October 2005 | |
Chippewa County, WI, USA | |||
Based |
Bassingbourn | 17 May 1943 | Assigned to 324BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. |
Other War bond tour |
United States | Returned to US with the 'Memphis Belle' for a war bond tour. | |
Buried |
Santa Fe, NM, USA | Santa Fe National Cemetery Santa Fe Santa Fe County New Mexico, USA |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia