Page 36 - Desert Oracle June 2020

younges brother. Hanna remembers adjusing back into

civilian life, working frs briefy for the city in its building

department but later joining New England Telephone &
Telegraph for a nearly 40-year career in insallation and

repair work.

All three Hanna brothers came through the war

unscathed. He was the only one to see combat. “How

lucky can you be,” he says in refection. “The good lord
was watching me, and I can say the same for my

brothers.” His brother, Thomas, was a Navy aircraft

mechanic who worked sateside, and younges brother,
Clark, enlised at the tail-end of the war and was assigned

to the Pentagon.

His own children, particularly his son, Kevin, a retired

sate trooper who’s helped him assemble documents that
track the path of his service, have encouraged Hanna to

share his memories in hopes they will help new

generations undersand what happened during World War
II and the lessons that can carry forward.

Hanna feels today’s younger generation of Americans are

“too spoiled” and may not appreciate what pas
generations have accomplished to ensure democracy

survives. “We had nothing back then. Today, the
youngsers have so many things that have progressed,”

he says. “There’s nothing wrong with progress, but they

don’t realize how hard it can be.”

Of his own service, Hanna says simply, “I think I did a

good job, and I’m proud to be an American. That’s for
sure.”

csimison@repub.com