Irvin Edward Hanson

• Born: 26 Apr 1921, Log Cabin, Pike Lake, Minnesota
• Married: 2 Jun 1945, Duluth, Minnesota
• Died: 22 Dec 1999, Chris Jensen Home, Duluth, Minnesota
• Buried: Sunrise Memorial Park, 4798 Miller Trunk Highway , Duluth Minnesota

   Born in Pike Lake, Mn, his father was the garbage man with a buckboard wagon pulled by two horses. He worked on a farm in southern Minnesota during the Great Depression. Irv was an Army veteran of World War II and saw action in Normandy, Northern France and Germany. He joined the Army in May 1942, was wounded in October 1944, for which he received the Purple Heart. He drove the prototype of the M40 "Long Tom" self-propelled gun, in whick he was wounded in 1944 when a German artillery shell exploded in the ammo next to the vehicle.(Click here for a Long Tom pic) He was the only survivor of that crew. He was discharged in 1945 and married on June 2,1945.
A light equipment operator for the city of Duluth Parks and Recreation Department, he retired in 1978 with over 30 years there. He was a member of the former Highland Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church. He was a member of Disabled American Veterans and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, serving on the city and county employees local union board for many years.

Medals awarded in WWII

Irvin married Betty Louise Childs, daughter of Robert Simeon Childs and Isabella Grimston, on 2 Jun 1945 in Duluth, Minnesota. (Betty Louise Childs was born on 27 Sep 1924 in 105 W. Orange St, Duluth, Minnesota.)