SSgt Harold Ingvardt Hansen
(1907 - 1979)
Profile
SSgt Harold I Hansen was orphaned as a young man and emigrated to the United States. He was one the the Danish nationals who volunteered for the USAAF. He served from 1942 to 1945.
Harold Ingvardt Hansen was born on 4 September 1907 in Hillerup near Ribe, to householder Jørgen and Nielsine Hansen and Nielsine Hansen.[1] For both parents it was their second marriage following the deaths of their respective first spouses. Hansen’s father was 58 years old, when he was born, and his mother was 44.[1] The parents died, when Hansen was a child. His mother died on 15 June 1918[3] and his father on 6 March 1921. Hansen passed his confirmation on 2 October 1921.[4]
Emigrating to the United States
Hansen emigrated to the United States in November 1922, arriving in New York from Copenhagen onboard the SS Frederik VIII on 27 November 1922. His cousin Anna (Ane), the daughter of his mother’s brother, was accompanying him as his guardian.[5] There is little information available on his whereabouts in the 1920-1930s.
In the late 1930s, he worked for the Billboard Publishing Company (known for the Billboard Magazine) in Cincinnati, Ohio. In early 1940, he moved to Pulaski, Arkansas,[6] where he married Mildred Clayton on 21 December 1940.[7]
23rd Photo Rec Sqn
Hansen enlisted as private (38237441) in the US Army in Little Rock, Arkansas, on 14 September 1942.[8] There is very little information on the nature of his service.
Documents show that he was assigned to 23rd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron at Alghero, Sardinia.[9] This unit was established in 1942 and assigned to 5th Photographic Reconnaissance Group. The squadron and its P-38/F-5 aircraft was send overseas and, following operations from Foggia and San Severo in Italy, it moved to Alghero in February 1944. In July 1944, the squadron moved to Borgo, Corsica, in support for the landings in South France. The squadron operated from bases in France from August to October 1944, before returning to Italy.[10]
Hansen was released from service holding the rank of Staff Sergeant on 16 September 1945.[11]
After the War
Hansen lived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for many years after the war, before moving to Moss Point, Mississippi, where he died on 31 May 1979.[12]
Endnotes
[1] DNA: Parish register, Vilslev sogn. He was baptised Harald Ingvardt Hansen.
[2] DNA: 1911 Census of Denmark.
[3] DNA: Parish register, Farup sogn.
[4] DNA: Parish register, Ansager sogn.
[5] Ancestry: New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957.
[6] Ancestry: U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947.
[7] Ancestry: Pulaski County, Arkansas, Marriages 1838-1999.
[8] Ancestry: U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946.
[9] NARA: RG 64, Morning reports, Morning Reports for March 1944 Roll 528 (4 of 4) (NAID: 466397874).
[10] Maurer, M. (1982). Combat squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, p. 123-124.
[11] Ancestry: U.S. Veterans' Gravesites, ca.1775-2006.
[12] Obituary for Harold Ingvardt Hansen, Sun Herald, 31 May 1979, p. 2.