Colonel U.S.A.F.
A retired fighter pilot who served in Korea & Vietnam. His ashes are scattered over his favorite area in central Oregon.
Col Hanna is a great example of why we honor those who served our country over this weekend.
Thanks to his son Andrew Hanna for his permission to post his father's wonderful photo collection. Very rare to see the kind of clarity and detail you will see in this collection. It's always a gift to share photos such as these that portray the Veteran and his time in service. Thank you as always for your service and continue to rest in peace.
Thank you Andrew and know your father is very much missed and forever remembered and honored for his service.
Below is Andrew's father's collection which I have tried to post in a logical order and with some of Andrew's remarks. Please feel free to add comments and historical data regarding any of the photos as Andrew, like many family members of veterans, is still collecting facts. Andrew has joined WIX recently so when he's able to post I hope he will come on in and add what I haven't and edit anything I got wrong. Apologies in advance Andrew.
Col Robert Keith Hanna
Date of Birth 7 Dec 1931
Date of Death 27 May 1994 (aged 62)
Myrtle Creek, Douglas County, Oregon, USA
Col Hanna served with the 58th Fighter Bomber Wing in Japan & Korea.
Per Andrew: "Dad was in Korea in 57-58 or so. Here are some photos of him and his buddies there and in Japan on a ferry flight. They were flying F-86s in the 311th squadron. I think this was a very formidable time in his life, he stayed friends with many of these guys for the rest of his life."
History of the 58th FBW below:
On July 10, 1952, the 58th FBW activated and absorbed the personnel and equipment of the 136th FBW. The 58th had some assets in Japan and some in South Korea until August, when the entire wing moved to Korea. The 58th FBW tested a "reinforced wing" concept in the spring of 1953, taking on the support and administrative functions of the 49th FBW while exercising direct control of both the 58th and 49th FBGs. In three-months, the reinforced wing flew 10,422 combat sorties and delivered more firepower than two separate wings with a full complement of personnel.
Itazuke AB, Japan, July 10, 1952; Taegu AB, South Korea, August 1952-.
Units
69th Fighter-Bomber Squadron
310th Fighter-Bomber Squadron
311th Fighter-Bomber Squadron
The 58th FBG flew F-84s in primarily close air support and ground attack missions from July 1952. Having entered the Korean War with the slow, short-ranged F-84D ThunderJets, the 58th transitioned in late 1952 to the new "G" model, designed with more speed and range. Targets were enemy ports, railroads, and airfields. The group attacked the major supply port of Sinuiju in September, inflicting heavy damage to the target area without loss of personnel or aircraft. Combining with other fighter-bomber units, it attacked the Kumgang Political School at Odong-ni in October 1952 and the North Korean tank and infantry school at Kangso in February 1953. In May, the 58th FBG bombed North Korean dams, flooding enemy lines of communication and rice fields. On July 27, 1953, the 58th FBG attacked the runway at Kanggye and, with the 49th FBG, bombed Sunan Airfield for the final action of fighter-bombers in the Korean War.
https://www.koreanwar.org/html/units/usaf/58fbg.htmEstablished as 58 Fighter-Bomber Wing on 25 June 1952. Activated on 10 July 1952 in Japan absorbing the personnel and equipment of the Texas Air National Guard 136th Fighter-Bomber Group.
Korean War
The 58 FBW moved to K-2 Air Base, later known as Taegu Air Base, South Korea, in August 1952. Fighter-bomber units like the 58 FBW provided close air support for United Nations ground forces. Often flying deep into North Korea's "MiG Alley," the 58 FBW targeted airfields, railways, enemy positions, bridges, dams, electric power plants and vehicles.
The 58th provided close air support for United Nations ground forces and attacked enemy airfields and installations. In 1952 and early 1953 the wing flew interdiction and close air support missions in as well as attacking special strategic targets such as military schools, dams, and port facilities. Having entered the war with slow, short-ranged F-84D Thunderjets, the 58 FBW transitioned in late 1952 to the new "G" model, designed with more speed and range. The wing attacked the major supply port of Sinuiju in September, inflicting heavy damage without loss of personnel or aircraft. Combining with other fighter-bomber units, it attacked the Kumgang Political School at Odong-ni, Kumgang County in October 1952 and the North Korean tank and infantry school at Kangso in February 1953. Truce talks between North Korea and the United Nations stalled in the spring of 1953. As a result, the Air Force began attacking previously excluded targets in the north. On 13 May 1953, Thunderjets from the 58 FBW struck the Toksan Dam, near Pyongyang causing a massive flood. Floodwaters from the breached dam destroyed ten bridges, ruined several square miles of rice crops, flooded over 1,000 buildings and rendered the Sunan Airfield inoperable. Three days later, the wing attacked the Chosan irrigation dam with similar results. The Far East Air Forces commander later credited the 58 FBW by stating the destruction of the Toksan and Chosan irrigation dams resulted in the enemy coming to the truce talks in earnest. On 27 July 1953 it attacked runway at Kanggye and, with the 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing, bombed Sunan Airfield for the final action of the war. The wing earned a second DUC for its actions in the last three months of the war.
These missions were not easy and they came at a cost. By the end of December 1952, the war claimed 18 members of the 58 FBW. According to recent listings from the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, the fates of 14 members assigned to the 58th FBW are still unaccounted.
The 58th FBW served in three Korean War campaigns and earned the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for its actions in combat. After the armistice the 58th provided air defense for South Korea and deployed tactical components on rotational basis to Taiwan from January 1955 – February 1957. From 15 March 1953 to 8 November 1954 the 58th service-tested a "reinforced" wing organization, exercising direct control of the tactical components of the attached wings. In October 1958 it was re-armed with the TM-61C (Matador) tactical missile to provide a deterrent against attacks on South Korea, a mission that continued until 1962.
USAF Lt Keith Hanna 311th FBS 'Sidewinders' 58th FBW
Keith Hanna with his crew and his F-86 "The Vagabond" 58th FBW
F-86 311th FBS
Bob Moore, Clyde Garner and Jon Regan in pedicabs. Tainan.
Lt Keith Hanna
Ammo (50 Caliber) having tips painted.
Bamboo room, Officers club, Tainan.
Don Hedstrom, Art Mearns and two chinese pilots in front of stripalert shack at Tainan.
Communist and allied inspection team checking birds at K-14 on way back from Tainan.
Lt Hanna with 'Rocky' the dog.
Hal Sullivan, Dick Kliemann, Bob Pecore, Dick Franklin, Dave allinson, Capt. Jack Craycraft, R. Duger (Keith) Hanna, Bob Berry, Charlie Davis in Tainan.
Hess, Red Davis, Pinky, Capt. Ball. Tainan.
Myself (Keith Hanna) and Bob Berry. K-55.
North American F-86F-30-NA Sabre 52-4440 transferred to Republic of China AF as F86271
Ron Youse at K-14 near Seoul.
Taken Christmas day Tianan.
Taken while at Itazuke A.B. Fukuoko, Japan. On way back from Tainan.
The Birds at K-14 near Seoul, Korea.
The birds at Kadena A.B. on Okinawa.
Two Czechoslovakian officers on the right that represented communists during inspection of our birds.
USAF F-86 Sabre 311th FBS 58th FBW Osan Air Base Korea.
In June of 1968 while serving in Vietnam Col Hanna was shot down and came to rest at the mouth of the disappearing river. His rescue was one of the most dangerous and difficult of the war.
Per Andrew Hanna:
"So I have been on a mission of late to catalog and discover all I could about dad's time in the service. Years ago, shortly after dad died, there was an article that came out in Air Force magazine about a group of Misty pilots that went back to North Vietnam and visited the places that they used to bomb.
The Misty's were an elite, secret group of pilots that flew F-100s as forward air controllers (FACs) in the recording posted below you can hear dad refer to the Misty FACs repeatedly. FACs helped to find the enemy and directed strikes against them.
One of the places they visited was the disappearing river which is where dad was shot down. One of the guys, PK Robinson, was one of the directors of the rescue and it was clear from his narrative that he was proud and moved by the heroism, courage, and professionalism of this rescue.
I had always wanted to contact Mr. Robinson and thank him for his part in dad's rescue and get him the recording so he could experience it from dad's side. I never could quite figure out how to contact him until recently. There is a Misty FAC group and they have graciously been very helpful in helping to learn exactly where dad went down as well as some other questions I had about dad's service. One interesting tidbit is that Dick Rutan, the first guy to fly non-stop non-refueled around the world in the Voyager aircraft was in on the rescue.
It turns out that Mr. Robinson wrote a narrative of the rescue that is just as exciting as dad's recording. I have linked to it, and it is really worth a read. This was an event that meant a lot to a lot of people, not just one's with the name Hanna in their history."
https://www.airforcemag.com/article/0606misty/https://www.airforcemag.com/article/1000misty/https://www.airspacemag.com/military-av ... e-3494168/
This is believed to be Col Hanna's last mission in Vietnam.
Col Keith Hanna in Vietnam.
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