World War II veteran Earl Harvey Hanson is one of the 600,000 veterans (of 16 million who fought) still alive today. The man is nearly a century old, having recently turned 95, but reaching a personal centennial isn’t the only milestone in his future.
During Operation Overlord, Hanson was aboard the USS Rich, a destroyer that escorted our soldiers during the massive invasion of Normandy in 1944. Hanson was a deck gunner and he was severely injured when a mine exploded.
The USS Rich would eventually sink after further mine damage, and Hanson suffered life-threatening injuries: a punctured lung, broken ribs, and other internal injuries.
Unlike many of his brothers in arms, Hanson survived to come home. He was awarded the Purple Heart for his efforts, but there was something unusual about it:
…But it arrived in the mail, which sparked an effort by his relatives and others in his small hometown of Ballard, West Virginia, to find a more high-profile, appropriate way to honor Hanson’s sacrifice.
And so on June 4 some 100 people from town as well as veterans’ groups are expected to gather to see the Purple Heart presented to Hanson, now 95 years old.
“It’s a big deal for them” said Jack L. Smock, the executive officer at the Navy Submarine Torpedo Facility at Yorktown, Virginia, referring to the people of Ballard, from which Smock hails. “I want to do everything in my power to make this special for him,” Smock told Fox News, noting that Hanson is one of the last living World War II Navy veterans. “When the war was over, people just went home. They didn’t stick around to get medals. I’m honored to do this for someone from my hometown.”
As for why Hanson received his Purple Heart late and unceremoniously in the mail, you can blame bureaucracy. According to the Veterans Legacy Foundation (which helped Hanson come in contact with the Purple Heart he earned), it’s not uncommon for there to be massive delays due to lost paperwork, poor oversight, and all the other problems that government bureaucracy breeds.
Hanson isn’t the only one.
Hanson’s granddaughter, Jeanette Sibert, said that when Hanson got the medal in the mail, “It was as if he won the lottery.”
Sibert said she thought the honor needed to be celebrated in a big way.
“He deserves the best from our country,” she told Fox News. “We want to see the Purple Heart presented to him properly. It’s a huge accomplishment. I hope it gives him pride to see that people still recognize veterans. They’re the ones who keep Americans safe, they protect our freedom.”
H/T: Fox News
It’s just astonishing to think about what these men went through to protect America and defeat the Nazis and Japanese. They truly are the Greatest Generation, and each one deserves the recognition they earned in defense of our nation!
Fox provides this image of the USS Rich:
Well, it’s about time! Be sure to spread the good news and share this post on Facebook and Twitter!
