Tony Hansell
13 MAR 1933 - 26 NOV 2004
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Tony Hansell + Daughter + Daughter's Children + Bo
2002
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Skip Massey - Tony Hansell - Steve Hansell (Tony's son)
OCT 1997
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Tony Hansell and Daughter Lisa
1990
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Andrews - Kennebeck - Hansell - Buie - Trobaugh - Frost
1986
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Tony Hansell - Jud Faurer - Jack Farrington
Camp Buckner 1952
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? - Ann Parks - Nancy Matthews - Tony Hansell - Oddie Twining (now Hansell) - ?
Camp Buckner 1952
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E - 2
1st Row: Axup - Dorward - Lilly - Pheiff - Murray - Chikalla
2nd Row: Hansell - Gallup - Pemberton - Troyan - Ewing - Black
3rd Row: May - Hoeferkamp - Donaldson - Tebben
4th Row: Seay - Shideler (Absent: York)
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Back row standing: Bill Axup and Mike Gallup
Middle row: Bob Blitch on guitar, Chuck Ewing and Tony Hansell
Foreground backs to camera: Skip Massey and Danny Dienst
CAMID 1953
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Tony and I (E2 & F2) used to see each other a lot during our cadet days and I always enjoyed Skip and Tony on the Guitar and Spoons with a little vocal thrown in. After graduation our paths did not cross until August '02. My Grandson Bo - a hotshot tennis player - was competing in the National "12 and under" Tennis Championship in San Antonio. I wrote ahead on the class net to request San Antonio '55 troops show up and cheer for Bo ........Tony - Daughter and Grandsons showed up at 0800 on a Sunday to cheer like hell for Bo......For that Tony will have my eternal thanks....... Rest in peace Tony -w Bill Welter November 28 - 2004 I haven’t seen Tony since graduation - and I was really looking forward to our 50th reunion. Tony and I were both in Company E-2 for all four years. In fact we were roommates for a few months of Plebe year. I enjoyed his impromptu guitar sessions; they enlivened what was a rather dismal environment. That is until we disturbed some upper classmen and ended up with several unpleasant sessions of their corrective instruction. This didn’t stop Tony then - or all the rest of our four years. I will miss not renewing our old friendship at the reunion - but be assured that there will be many toasts drunk and generally truthful tall tales told in his memory! MIKE GALLUP November 30 - 2004 Over the years my dad has told great tales and knowing who he is every single "Tall Tale" was a truthful account of what happened. Over time I will post some of these stories. Tonight I just wanted to say thank you for the stories I have read so far and look forward to make my own contribution. The Obit may have been a duty of mine but it is not the way I want him remembered. So keep an eye here as I let loose some wild tales of Atlas rockets coming at him from Cape Canaveral and FAC stories of bullet holes and no way to shoot back! Also stories of refueling B-52s while in his KC-135. The list goes on! Thanks from OLE Hans' Son - Steve Hansell Stephen Hansell December 2 - 2004 Colonel (Ret.) Haywood S. Hansell - III born March 13 - 1933 in Montgomery Alabama has left us now for eternal rest. Haywood passed away November 26 - 2004. Haywood Hansell was known to many as Tony Hansell and was a Retired Colonel in the US Air Force. He was a loving Husband - Father and Granddad. Tony attended West Point Military Academy graduating on Tuesday June 7th - with the Class of 1955. Tony was a great athlete and he boxed for West Point Military Academy - as well as being a tennis player - golfer and fisherman. After graduation from the USMA - Tony entered the US Air Force and earned his wings after pilot training at Reese AFB - TX in 1956. Tony flew his first assignment as a KC-97 copilot at Lincoln AFB - Nebraska. In 1960 he was assigned to Seymour-Johnson AFB - North Carolina where he upgraded to Aircraft Commander and Instructor Pilot in the KC-135. Tony continued his career flying a wide variety of military aircraft during his illustrious military career. He volunteered for duty in Southeast Asia and was assigned as a Forward Air Controller to the 21st Tactical Air Support Squadron (TASS) - II Corps. At mid-tour he was made Chief - Stan/Eval for Military Region II. Col. Hansell returned to the States and served on the Faculty of the Air Command and Staff College (1971-1974) Maxwell AFB - Alabama - where he was Chief - Strategy and Doctrine Branch - Force Development and then in Strategy and Analysis. In 1975 he became Deputy Chief - Congressional Hearings - DCS Operations at the Pentagon. In 1976 Col. Hansell was assigned to OSD where he served in a series of positions in International Security Affairs. He was promoted to Colonel on August 1 - 1976 with a date of rank of 24 July 1975. In 1984 he became Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans. Col. Hansell was a command pilot. His military decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal - Legion of Merit - Distinguished Flying Cross - Meritorious Service Medal - Air Medal with five Oak Leaf Clusters - and the Air Force Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster. Col. Hansell served his final assignment for the USAF at Randolph AFB - TX - retiring 19 July - 1985. He served as a Director for Northrop Corp San Antonio Operations and served as a Trustee of the Daedalian Foundation. Col. Haywood Hansell is survived by his wife - Olivia Twining Hansell of 49 years; his son - Stephen Haywood Hansell; and daughters - Lisa Olivia Hansell and Lt. Col. Jennifer Hansell Perry. Tony Hansell has two grandchildren Ryan and Jessica Perry. Haywood also is survived by his brother - Denny Hansell with wife Susan and Haywood's sister - Lucia Rose. Numerous nieces - nephews and other family members survive Haywood. GRAVESIDE SERVICE 3 Dec '04 10:00 A.M. FT. SAM HOUSTON NATIONAL CEMETERY with Chaplain Richard Munsell officiating. Stephen Hansell December 3 - 2004  Colonel (Ret.) Haywood S. Hansell - III born March 13 - 1933 in Montgomery Alabama has left us now for eternal rest. Haywood passed away November 26 - 2004. Haywood 'Shep' Hansell was known to many as Tony Hansell and was a Retired Colonel in the US Air Force. He was a loving Husband - Father and Granddad. Tony attended West Point Military Academy graduating on Tuesday June 7th - with the Class of 1955. Tony was a great athlete and he boxed for West Point Military Academy - as well as being a tennis player - golfer and fisherman. After graduation from the USMA - Tony entered the US Air Force and earned his wings after pilot training at Reese AFB - TX in 1956. Tony flew his first assignment as a KC-97 copilot at Lincoln AFB - Nebraska. In 1960 he was assigned to Seymour-Johnson AFB - North Carolina where he upgraded to Aircraft Commander and Instructor Pilot in the KC-135. Tony continued his career flying a wide variety of military aircraft during his illustrious military career. He volunteered for duty in Southeast Asia and was assigned as a Forward Air Controller to the 21st Tactical Air Support Squadron (TASS) - II Corps. At mid-tour he was made Chief - Stan/Eval for Military Region II. Col. Hansell returned to the States and served on the Faculty of the Air Command and Staff College (1971-1974) Maxwell AFB - Alabama - where he was Chief - Strategy and Doctrine Branch - Force Development and then in Strategy and Analysis. In 1975 he became Deputy Chief - Congressional Hearings - DCS Operations at the Pentagon. In 1976 Col. Hansell was assigned to OSD where he served in a series of positions in International Security Affairs. He was promoted to Colonel on August 1 - 1976 with a date of rank of 24 July 1975. In 1984 he became Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans. Col. Hansell was a command pilot. His military decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal - Legion of Merit - Distinguished Flying Cross - Meritorious Service Medal - Air Medal with five Oak Leaf Clusters - and the Air Force Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster. Col. Hansell served his final assignment for the USAF at Randolph AFB - TX - retiring 19 July - 1985. He served as a Director for Northrop Corp San Antonio Operations and served as a Trustee of the Daedalian Foundation. Col. Haywood 'Shep' Hansell is survived by his wife - Olivia Twining Hansell of 49 years; his son - Stephen Haywood Hansell; and daughters - Lisa Olivia Hansell and Lt. Col. Jennifer Hansell Perry. Tony Hansell has two grandchildren Ryan and Jessica Perry. Haywood also is survived by his brother - Denny Hansell with wife Susan and Haywood's sister - Lucia Rose. Numerous nieces - nephews and other family members survive Haywood. GRAVESIDE SERVICE FRIDAY 10:00 A.M. FT. SAM HOUSTON NATIONAL CEMETERY 1520 HARRY WURZBACH with Chaplain Richard Munsell officiating. You are invited to sign the guestbook at www.porterloring.com Arrangements with Porter Loring Mortuary North. Haywood S. "Tony" Hansell III - a command pilot and retired Air Force colonel - died of a blood and bone marrow disorder at a hospice facility Friday. He was 71. Hansell - a resident of Fair Oaks Ranch - was the son of Maj. Gen. H.S. "Possum" Hansell Jr. and the son-in-law of Gen. Nathan F. Twining - the first Air Force chief of staff to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Twining - who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs from 1957 to 1960 and the elder Hansell both graduated from advanced flying school at Kelly Field in the 1920s. "Possum" Hansell was relieved of command when he refused to firebomb Japanese cities during World War II - but he is considered one of the airpower heroes of the 20th century. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point - Class of 1955 - Tony Hansell earned his pilot's wings the following year after training at Reese AFB in Lubbock. In three decades in the Air Force - the Alabama native flew a variety of aircraft - from World War II holdovers like the B-29 Superfortress to F-4 Phantom fighter jets. Hansell's early assignments included Lincoln AFB - Neb. - where he flew the KC-97 - and Seymour-Johnson AFB - N.C. - where he was aircraft commander and instructor pilot in the KC-135. During his tour of duty in Vietnam - Hansell was a forward air controller assigned to the 21st Tactical Air Support Squadron - II Corps - and flew prop planes. "Flying at treetop level - those slow-flying planes could get hit - and he often found holes in his plane after he landed," said his son - Stephen Haywood Hansell of San Antonio. After Vietnam - Hansell spent three years on the faculty of the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB - Ala. Hansell - called "Shep" by some and "Tony" by others - served several stints in the Pentagon - where one of the projects he worked on was stealth aircraft. He retired at Randolph AFB in 1985 as director of programs and long-range plans for the Air Training Command. From the Air Force - Hansell went to work at Northrop Grumman's San Antonio office. He retired from Northrop in 1995. His decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross - Legion of Merit - Defense Superior Service Medal - and the Air Medal. Additional survivors include his wife of 49 years - Olivia Twining Hansell of Fair Oaks Ranch; two daughters - Lisa Olivia Hansell and Lt. Col. Jennifer Hansell Perry - both of San Antonio; two grandchildren - Ryan Perry and Jessica Perry - also of San Antonio; a brother - Denny Hansell of Jasper - Ga.; and a sister - Lucia Rose of San Francisco. San Antonio Express-News December 6 - 2004 Tony Hansell departed as he lived - surrounded by a host of admiring friends. The graveside service at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery drew several classmates - most of the Daedalians in the area - and a few dozen others - so many that those on the outer fringes were hard pressed to hear all the service. It was a great turnout despite a chill gray day. At Oddie's request a class wreath joined the other flowers at the service. Since the graveside service was the only ceremony - we had a gathering and lunch afterward at the Ft. Sam Officers Club. Classmates attending the service were Black - Blitch - Buie - Cooper - Dinwiddie - Fikaris - Roades - Trawick and me. I missed Dinwiddie and - considering the changes half a century brings - other classmates who showed may have gone unrecognized as well. The obituary and an article about him from the San Antonio Express have already appeared on the class net. I talked to Tony at length three weeks before he left. He knew it was coming and he played it where it laid. No regrets - no recriminations - cheerful to the end. He did everything well - even this. Chuck Ewing December 2004 I met Tony Hansell at Yokota as a young F-4 backseater in June of 1969. I remember him as one of the older heads in the squadron who had all the qualities I aspired to - a beautiful family - a confident and friendly demeanor - and a good golf game. Being younger and a bachelor at the time we didn't associate a lot but I remember his leadership by example and strong influence on our unit - the 80th Tactical Fighter Squadron. That squadron turned out many of our top leaders in the Air Force - including the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - General Dick Myers. It seems Tony went before his time - I am sure he is grealy missed by his family. Very Respectfully, Phil Comstock February 7 - 2005 Haywood Shepherd Hansell III...Tony... Shep... Laroy of Savannah. He was all of those - and he had more personas than handles. He was uproarious - rebellious - entertaining - incisive - boundlessly enthusiastic - committed enough to hack the course -- any course -- and joker enough not to take it seriously. He was everything you could want in a roommate. Despite the pressures from the Tenth Avenue crowd and the annoying interference of the Tactical Department - we yukked our way through the last three years on the rock pile. He made it bearable - even fun. He taught me the hambone - and he showed me that a guitar was more than music - a magic box that kept the gray walls from closing in. It didn't take long to discover that he did everything well. He could drive a volley - land a jab - hit a green - set a hook - and physical prowess was only one of his facets. He was a voracious reader - even when he couldn't spare the time - and he knew more poetry than the muses. He was a friend for life. I stood with him and handed him the ring when he married his beloved Oddie. After that our Air Force paths crossed only briefly. We would go for ages without communicating - and then pick it up again almost in mid-conversation - nothing forgotten - nothing withheld - nothing sacred. We had better luck getting together after the active duty years. Fishing with him whether they were biting or not was a treat and an adventure - the purest distillation of camaraderie. He called three weeks before he left - and he sounded so upbeat I made the great mistake of not going to see him right then. We all knew it was coming - he most of all - and he played it where it laid. No regrets - no recriminations - cheerful to the end. He even did this well. As all in the Long Gray Line - we graduated into harm's way - and we came earlier than most to understand how precious is life. Now - fifty years beyond our cadet days - each new day dawns as a gift. I count them all sweet - and they're all welcome - but it's nowhere near as good as it was when Tony Hansell was here. Be at peace - compadre. Flights of angels . . . . Chuck Ewing July 14 - 2005 |
USMA 1955 Roster
USMA 1955 Pictures