Henry Oliver Hansen (1919 - 1945)

Born 14 Dec 1919 in Somerville, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States

Ancestors

Died 1 Mar 1945 at age 25 in Iwo Jima, Japan

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Biography

Henry Hansen is Notable.

Henry Oliver was born at the Somerville Hospital in Somerville, Massachusetts, in 1919, the son of Henry and Madeline (Dwyer) Hansen.^[1] He grew up in Somerville as one of 5 children, including one sister and three brothers (another brother died in infancy before Henry was born). His father worked as a teamster for the city.^[2] Henry attended local schools and graduated from Somerville High School in 1938.

Hansen volunteered for the Paramarines which were formed in 1942 and became a Marine parachutist. He fought in the Bougainville Campaign in 1943. In February 1944, the Paramarines were disbanded and he was transferred to Third Platoon, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California.

Hansen landed with the 5th marine Division on Iwo Jima, on February 19, 1945. He landed with his rifle company and battalion at the southern end of Iwo Jima where Mount Suribachi is located.

On February 23 at 8 AM, First Lieutenant Harold Schrier, the E Company executive officer, led a 40-man combat patrol with members mostly of Third Platoon, E Company, up Mount Suribachi to seize and occupy the crest. Schrier was to raise the Second Battalion's American flag to signal that the mountaintop was captured. Once on top, a section of a Japanese water pipe was found that became the flagstaff for the flag. Lt. Schrier, Sgt. Hansen, and Cpl. Charles Lindberg, tied the flag unto the pipe (with the help of Platoon Sgt. Ernest Thomas, and Pvt. Phil Ward who held the pipe). The flagstaff was then carried to the highest position on the crater. At approximately 10:20-10:35 a.m. Lt. Schrier, Platoon Sgt. Thomas, and Sgt. Hansen, raised and planted the flagstaff on windy Mount Suribachi. Seeing the raising of the national colors immediately caused loud cheering with some gunfire from the Marines, sailors, and coast guardsmen on the beach below and from the men on the ships near the beach; the ships whistles and horns went off too.

The first flag was replaced about or over two hours later on the same day with a larger flag attached onto another steel pipe. The replacement flag was raised by four Marines from Second Platoon, E Company, a Marine runner for E Company who climbed up Mount Suribachi with the flag, and a Marine who was present at the first flag-raising; the second flag went up at the same instant the first flag was taken down. The black and white photograph of the second flag raising by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press became world famous. Marine combat photographer, Sergeant William Genaust who had accompanied Rosenthal and Marine photographer Pvt. Robert Campbell up Mount Suribachi, filmed the second flag raising in color. After the replacement flag was raised, sixteen Marines including Schrier, Hansen, and two Navy corpsmen (John Bradley and another corpsman from the 40-man patrol), posed together for Rosenthal around the base of the flagstaff.

On February 24, Lt. Schrier ordered Platoon Sgt. Thomas to report early the next morning to Navy Vice Admiral Richmond K. Turner and Marine Lieutenant General Holland Smith (both saw the first flag raising) aboard the flagship USS Eldorado (AGC-11) about the flag raising on Mount Suribachi. During a CBS radio news interview aboard ship, Thomas named Sgt. Hansen to the interviewer as one of the actual flag-raisers besides Lt. Schrier and himself. Rosenthal's photograph of the second raising appeared in the newspapers the same day as Thomas's interview.

Hansen was killed in action on Iwo Jima, on March 1, and Thomas on March 3. Three Marines of the second flag raising were also killed in action after that flag was raised on Mount Suribachi. Hansen and the four other flag-raisers who were killed on Iwo Jima were buried in the 5th Marine Division cemetery on the island. Sgt. Genaust was killed in action on March 4 in a Japanese cave on Iwo Jima, his remains are still missing. The battle of Iwo Jima officially ended on March 26, 1945.

Hansen's final burial was at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific near Honolulu on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.^[3] His name is also listed on the World War II memorial of local men killed during the war, located at Trum Field in Somerville.

Sources

1. ↑ "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLGR-DYVX : 1 September 2021), Henry Oliver Hansen, 1919.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1930", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XQPG-YMY : Thu Sep 21 07:20:24 UTC 2023), Entry for Henry T Hansen and Madeline T Hansen, 1930.
3. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #6789302 National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii

• "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX1N-B4H : accessed 17 November 2016), Henry J Hanson in household of Henry Hanson, Somerville Ward 5, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 434, sheet 14A, line 33, family 328, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 719; FHL microfilm 1,820,719.