Memorial

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1st Lt James D. Hannaman attended the University of Oregon and worked in his father's contracting firm.

He enlisted in Portland, Oregon, on 29 September 1942 and was sent overseas in September 1944.

A/C 668 received a direct hit by flak at Düsseldorf between #1 and #2 engines. The A/C peeled out of formation and went into a 30 sec dive in an attempt to extinguish the fire. A/C leveled off about 25,000 feet for a short time then the left wing came off and A/C went into an uncontrolled dive with A/C 151 reporting observing it hitting the ground in a mass of flames. Of the nine men crew, four were able to bail out before the plane went into spin. Surviving crew member reports indicate that

1st Lt Hannaman was on his way to the escape hatch, when the plane went into the spin.

He, and three other crew members, did not get the chance to bail out before the plane hit the ground and were killed in the crash."

"The B-17 plane of which Lt Hannaman was co-pilot was on fire and the crew continued to drop their bombs rather than break out of formation. Flak got the plane just as it went into the target. I could see the flames licking back from the engine. When I glanced back again, the left wing was wrapped in flame. They hung onto their bombs and stayed in formation. When we reached the target, the wing looked like a giant bonfire, but they got their bombs on the objective. Every man in the formation was hoping for a miracle to put those flames out. Then they pulled away and started down. We will never forget their courage."

According to reports, he held the plane together long enough to complete the mission before going down.