John Henry Hansen was born on February 10, 1921, in Plano, Idaho. He served in the 862nd Bomber Squadron, 493rd Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Pilot on the B-24H #42-94812 ‘Little Warrior' during World War II.
The 493rd BG, on only its 17th mission, took off from Debach airfield on the morning of the 29th of June 1944. The Little Warrior was one of 47 aircraft tasked with bombing the Junkers Flugzeugwerke aviation plant at Fallersleben in Germany.
An after-mission report described that:
Aircraft #812 flying in #5 position in “A” Group received a direct flak hit near #3 Engine at 09:39 hrs in the target area just after bombs away. It was enveloped in flames from the nose to the rear of the bomb bays. It fell out of formation and disintegrated at about 10,000 feet.
The wreckage crashed at 09:42 hrs on the Steimker Berg, 300 metres south of the now named Parkhotel, in Kraft-Durch-Freude-Stadt (later named Wolfsburg). The aircraft was 99% destroyed and dispersed over about 900 meters in three main parts. German records document that the only survivor was 2Lt Benson, who was captured but injured and was taken to the Municipal hospital in Wolfsburg, where he died the same day.
2Lt Hansen is now buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery, Neupré, Belgium.
The Crew of the LITTLE WARRIOR B-24 42-94812:
Pilot: 2nd.Lt. John Henry Hansen O-693976 Age 23. Killed
Co-Pilot: 2nd.Lt. Sydney Alexander Benson O-818558 Age 21. Murdered
Navigator: 2nd.Lt. Jerome Levy O-703629 Age 23. Killed
Bombardier: 2nd.Lt. Malcolm McNeill Stich O-697746 Age 22. Killed
Radio/Op: S/Sgt. Billy Bennett Gomillion 38424702 Age 20. Killed
Eng/Top Turret: T/Sgt. Vernon John Polzin 38367667 Age 21. Killed
Nose Gunner: S/Sgt. Sylvanus Green Haskell Jr. 39297646 Age 27. Killed
Ball Turret: S/Sgt. Cyrus R. Aidala 32707915 Age 21. Killed
Waist Gunner: S/Sgt. John Edward Sanders 18191467 Age 27. Killed
Tail Gunner: S/Sgt. Walter Alexander Boykowski 13171280 Age 20. Killed
Source of information: www.findagrave.com, aircrewremembered.com, www.abmc.gov