Posted on 10/26/2019 9:59:39 AM PDT by fugazi
You may never have heard of the Hansen brothers, but twins Paul and Leslie own the distinction of being the only twins to earn the Navy Cross. In fact, they fought side-by-side when they accomplished the feat.
On 26 December 1943 the First Marine Division poured onto the beaches of Cape Gloucester, New Britain. As the Marines worked their way into the jungle, the amtraks (amphibious tractors) of the 1st Amphibian Tractor Battalion ferried in their ammunition and equipment. One of the first amtraks ashore was commanded by 23-year-old Philadelphia native Sgt. Robert J. Oswald Jr., with Pfc. Paul Hansen at the wheel and Pfc. Leslie Hansen manning a machinegun (both 20, from Bergen, N.Y.) .
When heavy fire from Japanese pillboxes halted the Marine assault force attempting to capture the island's airport, Oswald's crew volunteered to destroy the enemy position. The job of charging the pillbox was dangerous enough, but on board were tons of fuzes and 37-mm shells. Scores of enemy soldiers would be firing at a slow-moving, unarmored amphibious tractor loaded with explosives. Armed with a 50-cal. and a .30-cal. machine gun, packing a ton of guts, Sgt. Oswald and the hard-charging Hansen brothers drove straight into the enemy nest.
They quickly smashed through a line of Japanese soldiers then maneuvered through the dense rainforest towards the pillbox holding up the Marines. Paul threaded his way through the swamps and trees, intending to crush the pillbox. But just five yards from their objective, the vehicle became wedged between two enormous trees while making its final turn before crushing the machineguns. While Paul worked the controls to free the amtrak, the Japanese rushed the exposed American gunners. Oswald and Leslie cut down dozens of assaulting Japanese, but enough enemy slipped through their withering fire
(Excerpt) Read more at victoryinstitute.net ...
LOL!! Beat me to it...”Puttin’ on the foil, coach!”
After the Sullivan tragedy, why are two brothers allowed to serve in the same unit?
Semper Fi!
Do or die!
The Sullivan brothers were killed about a year before this incident. We were fighting a World War on two major fronts so the luxury of limiting familial losses was not a big priority. Later after the war it was a big deal.
The Hanson Twins were two of five Hansen brothers that served during World War II, one of which died in the Solomons in 1943 and two served in the Army.
I know twins that share some sort of an ESP connection, so it would be interesting to find out whether anyone has ever looked into this being used as an advantage on the battlefield.
You’re a POS.
Why?
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