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334th TRS dedicates room for fallen Airman

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Holly Mansfield
  • 81st Training Wing Public Affairs
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  Friends, family, students, instructors and leadership of the 334th Training Squadron and 81st Training Wing gathered for a room dedication ceremony Feb. 4, in honor of Senior Airman James Hansen, a former 334th TRS airfield management apprentice course student who died during a controlled detonation while deployed in Iraq in 2010.

In the ceremony room in full service dress, Staff Sgt. William Crew, Hansen's former roommate, sat quietly remembering that first day at technical school when Hansen helped him through one of the toughest transitions of his life. Crew is currently the noncommissioned officer in charge of 573rd Global Support Squadron central scheduling at Travis Air Force Base, California.

"I met him while we were here at Keesler in 2008," Crew remembered "We were fresh out of basic training and were assigned to be roommates. One of the first things that he wanted to do was to run to the base exchange and grab necessities like soap and laundry detergent.

"I embarrassedly had to tell him that my pay was messed up while I was in basic training and that I didn't have any money, and he offered right away to pay for everything that I needed until we could get by. As I started repeatedly thanking him and telling him how much it meant to me, he cut me off and told me 'I'm not doing this to be nice. I'm doing this so that my roommate doesn't smell like a bum.' Right then and there I knew we would become good friends."

"I was just 19-years-old and hadn't been away from home ever before," said Crew. "He had money saved, a college degree and his own car. It was a new transition for me and he guided me more than he will ever know."

Doing everything from eating to working out together, Hansen became a mentor for Crew.

"A few things that he taught me that will always stick with me are that a grown man will always have cash on him, and when you get tired of running, run another mile," said Crew. "When I got caught with chewing tobacco in my wall locker, he told me 'Well maybe when someone tells you not to do something then you don't do it.'"

Two years after leaving Keesler, the pair met back up. This time they were in Iraq. Roommates once again, they did everything together. During their time there, Hansen made a goal of running 500 miles before he would return home.

"He was an avid runner," said Crew. "When we were in Iraq, he tried to run 500 miles in six months. The day that he passed away, he had run 409 miles. His last run was a half marathon. After he passed, I grabbed his running logs from the gym, and I've had them in a box ever since. When I decided that there was no way that I was going to miss this dedication, I decided to frame those running logs to hang them in the classroom."

According to the 334th TRS airfield management instructors, the classroom is a living memorial so future Airmen can know Hansen's story, see different items from his time in the military and understand that no matter what job they hold,, they have a chance of not coming home from a deployment.

"The room dedication will become a living memorial so Hansen's legend won't be forgotten," said Staff Sgt. Courtney Polnicky, 334th TRS airfield management instructor. "He is the only airfield manager to have passed in combat and it serves as a reminder to all future airfield managers that war is a reality and casualties can happen anywhere. Take your job seriously, no matter what the position is."

As Hansen's parents, 334th TRS instructors and Crew walked into the room filled with memories of Hansen and his legacy he left behind, those who knew Hansen remembered the good times, and those who had never met him saw an Airman who touched the lives of many.

For Polnicky and the other 334th TRS instructors, Hansen was more than a boy from Athens, Michigan. He was an Airman who reminded those around him why they wear the Air Force uniform.

"He is a daily reminder of our core values and the ultimate sacrifice some may give for the freedom of others," said Polnicky. "Hansen epitomized what it meant to be a true Airman."
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