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Thompson FourFoundationThe Thompson Four Foundation
Studio portrait of William Roger Hanes as a young man, from the Hanes family display sheet.

The third son

William Roger Hanes

1929 – 2023

First Sergeant, United States Army. Born too late for the Second World War, he carried the family's service into the generation that followed it.

The record as it stands

Born
August 20, 1929Documented

Grave marker

Died
February 13, 2023Documented

Grave marker

Branch
United States ArmyDocumented

Grave marker

Rank
First Sergeant (1SG)Documented

Grave marker

Children
Don Hanes and Kim HanesFamily account

Family account. Both served on the board of this Foundation.

Conflict
Post‑1945 service — era pendingPending

Born 1929; too young for the Second World War. Korea and the Cold War are the open range.

Service file
Official Military Personnel FilePending

SF-180 request to the National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis

The account

William Roger was sixteen years old when the Second World War ended. Whatever he did in uniform, he did afterward.

That matters, and the Foundation states it plainly rather than letting him drift into his brothers' war. The mission speaks of service “during the Second World War and following,” and William Roger is the following. Korea and the long Cold War that came after it are the open range for his record.

He reached first sergeant — the senior enlisted soldier of a company, the one who holds it together day to day. It is not a rank that arrives quickly or by accident. His marker gives the rank and leaves it there, without a campaign or a citation, and until his file arrives so does this page.

He died in February 2023. He was not the last of the Four — his sister Anna Beth survives him.

Four men standing together for a photograph: an elderly William Roger Hanes in a striped shirt and glasses, then Kim Hanes, then Brandon Hanes, then Don Hanes.
William Roger Hanes with his sons and his grandson. Left to right: William Roger Hanes, Kim Hanes, Brandon Hanes, Don Hanes. Photographed from the framed print and rectified; the reflections are in the glass of the original.
Bronze grave marker reading William Roger Hanes, 1SG US Army, August 20 1929 to February 13 2023, beloved husband.
His marker gives his rank without further comment: 1SG, US Army. A first sergeant is the senior enlisted soldier of a company.

Open questions

What the Foundation still needs for William Roger

  • His dates of service, unit, and military occupation.
  • Whether he served in Korea.
  • His decorations and campaign credits.

If you hold a document, a photograph, or a memory that answers any of these, the Foundation would like to hear from you.

Contribute to the record