Robert Hanson, 85, Last Surviving Crew Member of Famed B-17 Bomber

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The New York Sun

Robert Hanson, the last surviving crew member of the famed Memphis Belle B-17 bomber that flew combat missions over Europe during World War II, died Saturday of congestive heart failure in Albuquerque, N.M. He was 85.


He was the radio operator on the Memphis Belle, which flew 25 combat missions over Germany and France while escaping some close calls. Hanson told his family stories about a chase involving several German planes, the bomber’s tail being shot off and a nose dive that left the crew wondering if they should use their parachutes.


The adventures of the Belle were brought back to life by a 1990 film, “Memphis Belle,” that told a fictionalized version of the bomber’s final mission.


Hanson, who was from Walla Walla, Wash., joined the military in 1941 and was assigned to the crew of the Memphis Belle. The bomber flew to England in September 1942 and departed on its first mission in November.


Army records show the plane flew 148 hours and dropped more than 60 tons of bombs.


During its missions, the Belle was hit by flak, cannon shells, and machine gun bullets. The plane’s major parts were replaced at least once, and four crew members died during combat.


Family members said Hanson came close once.


He was writing in a logbook one day and had to sneeze. As his head moved, a bullet missed him and put a whole through the book.


“He would always say, ‘When it’s your time, it’s your time,'” his daughter, Mary Black, said. “They had a lot of close calls.”


Hanson and the crew finished their 25th mission on May 17, 1943. He went on to work as a salesman for Nalley Fine Foods in Walla Walla, Wash.


Hanson’s family remembers him as a caring father and grandfather who was known for his sense of humor. Friends say he was fond of ending his phone conversations with “dit, dit, dit, dah, dit, dah” – the same way radio operators signed off using Morse code.


The New York Sun

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