The Howard Hansen Story of WW2

M: What was the date?

H: I got home in October, '45; a year before Esther and I got married. I was [a] year too

long in the service. I should have got out; I had more than enough points, but they

wanted me to be an instructor down there - us guys that came back - I was an instructor

down there for a year.

M: What was the criterion for getting to come home - time or engagements (campaigns)?

H: Yeah. Any U. S. serviceman two years overseas can get out -- go home -- not get

out. The thing is, when I was in Hawaii they had an aptitude test; general and

mechanical aptitude test. They had a big tent, we went in there. They had a captain

up on the stage and some fellow sitting by him; the had corporals to bring the test

sheets around. Captain said, "Now this first test is twenty minutes; when I say "start",

you start. Don't look down until I say "start", and then when I say "stop" everybody

looks up. Don't keep writing, look Up.” Well, the first one, I was done in probably

seven minutes. I was looking all around watching everybody else write. And then

the next one, same thing; so we went through that test. And it must have been a

week or so later, my platoon leader lieutenant, the one who got killed later, anyway,

he came to my tent. He said, "Sergeant, is PFC Brown around handy?" so I just

stuck my head out the tent, "Yo! Brown!" you know, he hollered, "Yo" on the double

he came running. "Come on in, Brown, sit down, men" so we sat down. I said,

"What's going here, Lieutenant?" He's awful nice. "Sit down, men", he said, "Did you

fellows know how you came out on that test the other day?" I said, "Yeah, I can

imagine how I came out." He said, "How?” "Probably the lowest in the company."

"No, no. The lowest in the company was the First Sergeant." He was [a] big voiced

man; he said, "Brown here came out highest and you came out second highest.” ”No

kidding?" “Yeah.” Brown, the reason he wasn't a lieutenant was because he was only

18 years old. He had two years of college and to be a lieutenant you've got to have

two years of college. Anyway, the lieutenant said, "Hansen, the captain wants to see

you.” Company commander - so I went up to the company tent, the office - had to

go up three steps to get in, so I hollered out. "Come in, Sergeant" he was just

beaming; he said, "Sergeant, how would you like a commission?" I said, “No, Sir, I

would not like a commission.” I mean they are really proud, which they should be.

He said, “Now why wouldn't you accept a commission?" I said, "Well, I'll tell you,

Sir,” I said, “I hear scuttlebutt, and I know you're not supposed to listen to

scuttlebutt, cause it's probably not even true, but this sounded to me like it was true.

The fact that the United States passed a law that any U.S. serviceman two years

overseas gets to go home, back to the United States; and", I said, "you know

something, Captain? My two years are just about up. I don't have much to go. If

I accept a commission, they will keep shoving me into combat and keep shoving me

into more combat; and I come from a big family - 14 of us kids, my mother sick in

bed for years. I'd like to see my family before I jump forty feet in the air and bite

Page 33

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

the dust." He said, "I can compel you to accept it." I said, "You go ahead. I know

what you have to do to be an officer, Sir, but", I said, "I'll pitch the jimmies with the

boys. I'll pitch pitches with the boys; it's against being an officer, and you'll have to

take it away from me." He said, "OK, I'm sorry you feel that way about it."

M: What did that mean, "pitch jimmies with the boys"?

H: You know, you can't go on leave, you can't be fraternizing with the non-

commissioned men, so I said I'd do that. The thing is, I got back in the United

States and I was instructing at Camp Pendleton. Instructing a company of men every

day for eight days and then get another company from back east. One day I went

over to the supply tent to get a pair of shoes. Survey, the sergeant in there and I

knew him; and there was a lieutenant in there and I knew he was our executive

officer for the training battalion that I was working for. I gave the sergeant my

order; the first lieutenant came over to me and says, "Sergeant Hansen, aren't you?"

and I said, "Yes, Sir." He said, "You know, on account of you I didn't sleep good all

night." I said, "Oh, wait a minute. Oh, not THAT! Not that, good heavens!" but he

said, "I was going through the record book and I couldn't believe it. You refused a

commission! I see you operate in the field and with a company of men and all that

and I can't understand why a man of your caliber would refuse a commission." I

said, "You want to hear the whole story?" He said, "I sure do! I wouldn't go home

without it." So I told him, "I've got family. Went through all these campaigns – five -

and", I said, "If I had accepted that commission they could have kept me over there

as long as they wanted, cause I was an officer; and", I said, "Man, I had enough of

that killing and shooting." He said, "OK, I understand that."

I enjoyed instructing all them guys down there [Camp Pendleton]. I was a good

enough instructor on that instruction battalion. There were four of us picked to

instruct officers that came out of OCS, Quantico, Virginia, and my first bunch of

officers - my boss told me, "Now, you're a sergeant and they are officers, but you're

the boss. They've got to listen to what you say and they've got to obey what you say."

Of course, I'd get up on that stand, had mike, speakers; they were at tables down

there and they had bars on them. I'd stand up and give them the lecture on how I

wanted things to go, like the boots. I'd tell them I'd light the smoking lamp; no

smoking until I light it; and this and that. There was a little hill, was steep, about

100 yards up, awful steep, and I'd tell them, "if any of you guys don't believe me then

then you're going to have to run up that hill; and if you can't make it the first time,

you're going to have to run up if it takes you all night and I'll stay out there all night

to see that you do it." Well, the first thing off the bat, one of the lieutenants, a red

head. I could see the smoke billowing up, he was hiding behind that table. I had the

speaker so I could just walk down there and I walked down, and I could see him

squatted smoking a cigarette and I said, "Now, when you get done with that cigarette,

be sure and put it out, cause we don't want any forest fires around here [laughter].

I said, "Lieutenant, I'm ashamed of you! I'm really ashamed of you. You're an

Page 34