Staff Sgt. Henry Hansen was killed in Germany during WWII on November 18th, 1944 and is laid to rest in the Netherlands, at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in the city of Margraten. There are exactly 8,301 American soldiers buried in this cemetery, and local Dutch families have adopted each of these soldiers, and care for their graves. The families would like to be able to see pictures of each of these heroes that helped keep Europe free. To date there are still four men from Kansas that don’t have a picture.
Henry Hansen’s parents were Chris and Ellen Hansen. He had two brothers; Ralph, that was in the class of 1930 from Rosedale High School, and the youngest, Everett, that was born in 1921. The family lived at 4332 Fisher Avenue in the 1920’s. The youngest brother, Everett died in 1999, and is buried in Shawnee, KS, and may have family members that are still in the KC area. Henry Hansen graduated from Rosedale High in the class of 1932. Unfortunately a yearbook from that year has not yet been located that would have a senior class picture of him. A 9th grade picture of him has been located, but we would love to have one of him as an adult.
Henry Hansen’s name is one of those inscribed on the bronze plaque placed under the Rosedale Memorial Arch, located just down the hill from where he went to school. We need your help — if you have a copy of the 1932 Rosedale High School yearbook, or another picture of Henry Hansen, we would love to be able to share this piece of Rosedale history with both local historians and the Dutch families that care for our fallen heroes.If you have any photos or information about Henry Hansen, please notify Juanise Oliver, Adult Program and Volunteer Coordinator at [email protected] or call 913-677-5097
