About
World War II (1939-1945)
Robert Champney Hanckel Jr. was born in Worcester County, Massachusetts, on August 17, 1920. By 1930, he was living with his family in the village of Scotia in Schenectady County. He attended Scotia Glenville High School where he graduated, served in the senate, played football, and presided over his junior class. After graduating from high school, he received a scholarship from Worcester Polytechnic Institute to attend their school. There, he participated in football and was recognized as the fifth strongest member of the freshman class. After graduating from college, he started aviation training.
Robert enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He was on a marine ship that sank on June 9, 1943, in the South Western Pacific Ocean, close to Vanuatu. He is remembered at the Honolulu Memorial, Courts of the Missing in Hawaii.
*First Lieutenant
Sources: The Schenectady Gazette, Find A Grave, Ancestry