DENVER — Navy Machinist Mate 1st Class George Hanson returned to Wyoming Wednesday evening more than 75 years after he was killed during World War II.
Hanson, 32, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when on Dec. 7, 1941, the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Hanson.
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crewmen, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
Hanson's remains were initially buried as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2015, advances in forensic techniques prompted the disinterment and reexamination of unknown remains associated with Oklahoma.
“We didn’t know if they would be able to put two and two together," said Bob Gerard, Hanson's nephew who lives in Fort Collins.
Along with several other siblings, Gerard sent a swab from his cheek in hopes they would match with Uncle George.
He sent the DNA 7 years ago.
“But then after a couple of years I just figured it’s never gonna happen," Gerard said. "And then we got the call."
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency learned Hanson's remains were accounted for on December 17, 2018.
“I’m really honored and privileged, and I’m really proud of our government by living up to their motto that they will never leave anyone behind," said Gerard.
Wednesday night, Hanson's remains arrived in a casket on a Delta passenger plane at Denver International Airport.
"Pretty impressive," said Gerard, choking up after watching Navy sailors bring his uncle's casket off of the plane and into a hearse. "What can you say? Proud to be an American."
Hanson's remains were transferred back to his home state of Wyoming. The Federal Protection Agency provided a Dignified Honors Motorcade from Denver International Airport to Laramie Wyoming.
Burial services are set for Saturday, June 29 at 11 a.m. at Green Hill Cemetery in Laramie.
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