Ranching Legacy: Bob Hanson – Cowboy, war hero, craftsman

In the river breaks about seven miles northwest of Bison, S.D., a boy was born Oct. 3, 1918. One of seven children born to Jim and Elsie Hanson, Bob grew up on the homestead, working alongside his family to make a living. Jim Hanson was a freighter and hauled supplies to Bison from Hettinger, N.D., and occasionally Lemmon, S.D., with a four up team of Percheron horses. Bob’s dad also had a custom harvesting outfit with a header pulled by six horses and two header boxes, also pulled by six horses apiece. Many of these good horses were sired by the Percheron stud that worked on the ranch, named Schnell’s Laddie. Young Bob, at eight or nine years of age, was put to work too. “I halter broke all the colts to stand tied at the hayrack all day unattended while the mares worked. We worked mostly mares,” said Bob, adding, “Those colts learned to stand patiently until we broke at noon to eat, then they got to nurse and be with the mare until she went back to work.” “Dad stood three stallions back then. A Thoroughbred, Percheron and Shetland. He bred the Thoroughbred stud to the Shetland mares and I broke them as a kid. My oldest brother Clarence “Bud” would ride them until they quit bucking then I took them and made kid ponies out of them,” explained Bob. “The Thoroughbred stud was tough but his colts were really good. They were just like the P.O.A. (Pony of Americas) and made great little horses.” “I rode and broke horses most of my life. I knew a lot of the old cowboys from the old days back then too. I knew Fred Jennewein from the Hat Ranch, Frank Beck and Dode Willey. I really admired those men,” said Hanson. “I went to country school and then went two years to Brookings ag school and learned blacksmithing, welding, carpentry and other trades,” explained Hanson. “I also rode racehorses for Nels Fogh from Prairie City (S.D.) and some others.” Like many young men of that era, World War II called and Hanson was 23 years old when he went in to the service in 1941. He was aptly placed in the 15th Horse Cavalry at Ft. Riley, Kan., where he rode and trained horses every day. Learning to hunt while growing up on the ranch paid off when he scored third out of 300 in pistol scores. He also went to three gunsmithing schools while in the army and had 87 contested fights in the boxing ring. In 1944, in Doslet, Brittany, France, the armored car he was in was hit by a 40 mm incendiary shell. The driver of the armored car was killed and the other men and Hanson were burned, plus Hanson was wounded by shrapnel. “It busted up my feet so bad and I didn’t think I could even walk, but when the artillery shells started going off, I ran like a squirrel,” recalled Hanson. “I couldn’t get away though, and the Germans caught me. A German aid man who was very good with burns went to work on me and probably saved my life.”...more