Bob Hanson, B-17 buddies deserved fame

Another World War II warrior left us the other day.

That’s not an uncommon occurrence. Aged members of that remarkable generation are fading away at a depressing rate.

But Bob Hanson’s passing deserves a final salute.

I met the longtime Spokane resident 15 years ago this month. He told me about his role in one of the great stories of the Second World War.

Hanson, 85, died Oct. 1 in Albuquerque, N.M. He was the last surviving crew member of that celebrated B-17 of true life and Hollywood fame:

The Memphis Belle.

Tech. Sgt. Robert Hanson was the radio operator. The Memphis Belle became a national symbol after it completed 25 missions in the European theater.

The war bird flew its final mission on May 19, 1943. Overall, the Belle shot down eight German planes and rained about 60 tons of bombs targeted for industrial and military sites over Germany and France.

Flying daylight bombing runs during that time was perilous work. Hitler’s air defenses were still strong. “Flying Fortress” B-17s were routinely shot to pieces by fighters and anti-aircraft guns.

According to the Associated Press, 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.”

Hanson’s closest call came when he turned his head to sneeze. A bullet ripped through his log book, missing Hanson by inches.

After the 25th mission, U.S. leaders turned the Memphis Belle into a morale-booster for the war effort. The bomber and crew came home for a bond tour of 30 major cities.

The war ended. Hanson, a Walla Walla native, eventually moved to Spokane and became a salesman for a food distributor. He and wife, Irene, raised three children. The couple later moved to Arizona and more recently to Albuquerque to be near their daughter. Hanson and Irene, who is 88, were married 63 years.

The public forgot about the Belle until Warner Bros. scored a box office hit in 1990 with “Memphis Belle.”

From fighter attacks to fuel leaks, the movie is a highly fictionalized account of the bomber’s last mission. “It probably all happened to somebody at some time in some airplane,” Hanson told me in 1990. “But not necessarily to us.”

The movie did one thing right. It gave Hanson and his war buddies another dose of deserved limelight.

Family members say Hanson got a kick out of going to movie premieres and making celebrity appearances. But he never let the hype go to his head. “We weren’t heroes,” he said during our interview, “they made us heroes.”

How the B-17 got its name was one of Hanson’s favorite stories.

Bob Morgan, the airplane’s captain, had his heart set on Memphis Belle. That was the name of a riverboat in a movie. It also reminded Morgan of his Memphis sweetheart.

Unfortunately, each member of the crew had a pet name, too.

Realizing any vote would end in a tie, Morgan “took the tail gunner aside and this is the gawd’s honest truth,” recalled Hanson. “He said, ‘I just wonder if you might want a three-day pass, which could happen if, after the next vote, there are two votes for the Memphis Belle.’ “

Sure enough, Morgan got his way. Two votes for Memphis Belle. Eight votes for individual names.

“I wanted the Evergreen Girl, something like that,” said Hanson. “But I guess I didn’t have as much forethought as the captain.”

Hanson’s son Rick, 56, is a Spokane resident and railroad conductor. He described his father as a wonderful dad and a gregarious guy who could make friends just by walking into a room.

But he does take issue with his father about one thing: Bob Hanson was, indeed, a hero.

“I just can’t imagine going up there every time and thinking that you’re not coming back,” said Rick. “He was a great man.”