Averil M. Hanna grew up in Long Beach, CA with his parents, Thomas and Laura Hanna, and his brother, Robert Hanna. Averil served his nation proudly during WWII as an armorer for B-17s at Thorpe Abbotts field in Norfolk, England. He was called back into service during the Korean War shortly after returning home. Averil was a machinist and an avid collector of war memorabilia, including medals, books and firearms dating back to Napoleonic times.



I used to drive him to and from his home when we had family gatherings and he would tell me stories of life on the base during WWII, including the "putt-putt-putt" sounds of the V-1 buzzbombs that would occasionally come crashing down around the airfield. "When you heard them stop making the putt-putt sound, it was time to take cover" he would tell me (not in those exact words).



Averil retired in Santa Fe Springs, CA and lived there until his passing in 2006 at the age of 85. During his funeral, one of his best friends recalled how Averil ingeniously used springs to keep the manual guns of the B-17s centered during flight, so the gunners didn't have to fight both the Nazis and the wind during combat.