About
Robert Champney Hanckel Jr., the son of Robert and Elizabeth (Buttrick) Hanckel, was born on August 17, 1920, in Worcester County, Massachusetts. He was a small child when his family relocated to Scotia, New York. Robert attended Scotia Glenville High School where he graduated, served in the senate, played football, and presided over his junior class. Worcester Polytechnic Institute awarded Robert a scholarship. He participated in football and was named fifth strongest among the freshman class. He started aviation training after graduating form college.
Robert enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and held the rank of First Lieutenant. He was on a marine ship that sank on June 9, 1943, in the South Western Pacific Ocean, close to Vanuatu. Robert is remembered at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Hawaii.
Sources: The Schenectady Gazette, Find A Grave, Ancestry