Daniel L. Hansen, Marines, Staff Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Daniel L. Hansen, 24
Marines, Staff Sergeant
Based: Iwakuni, Japan
Marine Wing Support Squadron 171, Marine Wing Support Group 17, 1st Marine Air Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: February 14, 2009
Farah province, Afghanistan
Engaged
Gender: Male
Hometown: Tracy
High School: Merrill F. West High (Tracy)
Burial: Ft. Richardson National Cemetery, Anchorage

They were born 15 seconds apart and were best friends. The Hansen twins were competitors and athletes, and both enlisted in the Marines.

"Everything we did, we did together," said Matthew of his slightly older brother, Daniel. "We spent the first nine months huddled up together -- it's hard to separate after that."

It took a war to break them apart. Staff Sgt. Daniel Hansen died in Afghanistan on Feb. 14 after his foot patrol was hit by an improvised explosive device.

Hansen, 24, joined the Marines just days after he graduated from Merrill F. West High School in Tracy, Calif., in 2002. He and Matthew left for boot camp in San Diego one week apart, with Daniel heading off first. Daniel was assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 171 in Iwakuni, Japan, in January 2008 and deployed to Afghanistan's Farah province.

Hansen was buried at Fort Richardson National Cemetery in Anchorage on March 2 after an official memorial service at nearby Elmendorf Air Force Base on Feb. 28. His parents now have a home in Alaska. Another memorial ceremony was held at West High School on March 7.

Read the entire LA Times article about Marine Staff Sergeant Daniel L. Hansen here, find more at Military Times and at Freedom Remembered.

Master Chief Shannon S. Williamson gives a moment of silence to Staff Sgt. Daniel L. Hansen during his memorial service at the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni chapel

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