Gravesite

Grave_Howard C. Hanson

U.S., World War II Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Casualties, 1941-1945

Utah, U.S., Military Records, 1861-1970 for Howard Criddle Hanson

Hanson Headstone

Utah, U.S., Military Records, 1861-1970

Juanita C. Hanson

Idaho, U.S., Death Records, 1890-1967

Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S., National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl), 1941-2011 for Howard Hanson

1930 United States Federal Census

Howard Criddle Hanson was born on Saturday, November 26, 1927 in Idaho Falls, Bonneville county, Idaho to parents, Mr., and Mrs. Howard K. Giles. He graduated from Ogden high school, Ogden, Utah.

Family

Parents

Howard K. Giles (1899 – 1973) was born in Wisconsin and worked for the railroad as a “laborer” according to the 1930 U.S. Census.
Juanita Jane Criddle Hanson (1907 – 1982) was born in Idaho. The couple married on June 6, 1925 in Idaho Falls, Bonneville, Idaho. They divorced and Juanita remarried, Frank R. Hanson (1891 – 1957).

The family moved to Ogden, Utah. Frank worked as a cook and Juanita as a “presser” in laundry industry according to the U.S. 1940 Census records in which she answered questions for the enumerator.

Siblings

Marjorie Hanson Dockstader (1926 – 2000)
Preston Leroy Giles (1926 – 1951)

World War II

Private (Pvt.) Howard C. Hanson enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, Company G, 3rd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division. Multiple military records provide conflicting dates for enlistment, December 20, 1943, and January 20, 1944; both record the same enlistment location, Ogden, Utah.

Later newspaper articles provide further explanation; Hanson enlisted on December 20, 1943 and left for boot training in San Diego, California January 1944. He was assigned as a scout in the marine rangers at Camp Pendleton, California and left for overseas September 1944. He was stationed in Hawaii until he went to the Battle for Iwo Jima with the 28th regiment, Fifth division.

The Battle for Iwo Jima

The following is from the National History and Heritage Command (History.navy.mil).

Feb. 20, one day after the landing, the 28th Marines secured the southern end of Iwo and moved to take the summit of Suribachi. By day's end, one third of the island and Motoyama Airfield No. 1 was controlled by the Marines. By Feb. 23, the 28th Marines would reach the top of Mount Suribachi and raise the U.S. flag.

The 36-day assault resulted in more than 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead. Of the 20,000 Japanese defenders, only 1,083 survived. The Marines' efforts, however, provided a vital link in the U.S. chain of bomber bases. By war's end, 2,400 B-29 bombers carrying 27,000 crewmen made unscheduled landings on the island.

In the end, Iwo Jima was won not only by the fighting spirit of the Marines, but by the meticulous planning and support provided by the Navy and Army through supply efforts, medical care, and air and naval gunfire.

"The battle of Iwo Island has been won. The United States Marines by their individual and collective courage have conquered a base which is as necessary to us in our continuing forward movement toward final victory as it was vital to the enemy in staving off ultimate defeat.

By their victory, the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions and other units of the Fifth Amphibious Corps have made an accounting to their country which only history will be able to value fully. Among the Americans who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue."

--Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

Private Howard C. Hanson experienced a traumatic event at the Battle of Iwo Jima on Monday, March 12, 1945 which resulted in the loss of his life and recorded as, "Hostile, Killed in Action". He is buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Section N Site 788, Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii, an American Battle Monuments Commission location.

Medals

★ Purple Heart

Commendations

★ Combat Action Ribbon ★ World War II Victory Medal ★ American Campaign Medal ★ Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation ★ Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal ★ Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ★ Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal

Remembered

On behalf of the citizens of this great land, we thank and honor you, Private Howard Criddle Hanson, for your sacrifice, and protecting our freedoms.

References

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Casualties, 1941-1945 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.
Ancestry.com++.++ U.S., Navy Casualties Books, 1776-1941 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.
Ancestry.com. Idaho, U.S., Select Marriages, 1878-1898; 1903-1942 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2014.
Ancestry.com++.++ Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S., National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl), 1941-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
HonorStates.org. Howard Criddle Hanson. Honor States, Crafted Knowledge. Retrieved from: https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=587546
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed 23 December 2020), memorial page for Pvt Howard C Hanson (26 Nov 1927–12 Mar 1945), Find a Grave Memorial no. 63556571, citing National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii, USA; Maintained by Jeff Hall (contributor 47296194).
History.navy.mil. Battle for Iwo Jima, 1945. Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC); an official U.S. Navy web site. Retrieved from: https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/b/battle-for-iwo-jima.html
Idaho, U.S., Death Records, 1890-1967 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
National Archives and Records Administration. U.S., World War II and Korean Conflict Veterans Interred Overseas [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
National Cemetery Administration. U.S., Veterans' Gravesites, ca.1775-2019 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
Newspapers.com. (April 12, 1945). Loses of Life During Iwo Jima Battle. The Ogden Standard Examiner (Ogden, Utah); page 18. Retrieved from: https://basic.newspapers.com/image/597657487/?terms=Howard%20Criddle%20Hanson&match=1
Utah State Archives and Records Service; Salt Lake City, Utah; Military Service Cards, ca. 1898-1975; Creating Agency: Department of Administrative Services, Division of Archives and Records Service; Series: 85268; Reel: 73.
Year: 1930; Census Place: Ucon, Bonneville, Idaho; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 0031; FHL microfilm: 2340132.
Year: 1940; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: m-t0627-00392; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 60-954.

Stories Behind the Stars

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the name of the fallen, and read his/her story.

The Post Register_Thu_Feb 3, 1944_page 6

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