Army Sgt. Warren S. Hansen

Died November 15, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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36, of Clintonville, Wis.; assigned to the 9th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; killed Nov. 15 when two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters crashed in Mosul, Iraq.

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Sgt. Warren S. Hansen earned a reputation for heroism even before his military service, receiving a medal for saving a man from drowning when he was just 15. "He's very handsome and very decorated. He has numerous awards," said the Rev. Vilas Mazemke, his pastor. "He was a very good troop, one of high morale." Hansen, 36, of Clintonville, Wis., died Nov. 15 when two Black Hawk helicopters collided in Iraq. He was assigned to Fort Campbell, Ky., and is survived by his brother. The 17-year veteran had always wanted to serve in the military, following a family tradition. His father died while serving, and his stepfather was a Marine. "That's what he wanted to be ever since he was a little guy," Mazemke said. Hansen, who had served in Desert Storm and in Bosnia, wrote Mazemke an e-mail about the recent deaths of three friends in Iraq. "It's gotten personal, the one thing I hoped wouldn't happen," Mazemke recalled Hansen writing.

— Associated Press

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Street renamed for fallen Wisconsin soldier

CLINTONVILLE, Wis. — A 36-year-old soldier from Clintonville who died when two Black Hawk helicopters collided in northern Iraq in 2003 has been honored with the renaming of a street in his memory.

River Street, which has been extended through the city’s Industrial Park from 12th Street to Wisconsin 156, was officially named Wednesday as Staff Sgt. Warren Hansen Drive at a ceremony attended by about 500 people.

“Naming this road after Warren means everything,” his mother, Beth Karlson, said. “It means his memory will be kept alive. It means there is a price to pay for freedom and there are people willing to step up to the plate and do what they need to do.

“Warren would be totally blown away by this. He was a common person from a small town, with a big heart, and who loved to compete. He had a sense of humor and there was always the competition with his dad, who served in Vietnam as a Marine,” she said.

— Associated Press