Raymond Willis "Rock" Hanson (October 5, 1895 – January 4, 1982) was an American military officer and college sports coach and administrator. He was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and highly decorated veteran of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Hanson served as the head football coach at Western Illinois State Teachers College—now known as

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. History Western Illin ...

—in Macomb, Illinois, from 1926 to 1941.

Marine Corps career

Hanson enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1916 and served during

. He was assigned to the 75th Company, 1st Battalion,

6th Marine Regiment The 6th Marine Regiment (also referred to as "6th Marines") is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The regiment falls under the command of the 2nd Marine Division (Unite ...

. Hanson participated in the Battle of Belleau Wood, Battle of Château-Thierry and many other battles. During the Battle of Château-Thierry, Corporal Hanson saved his comrade, Private William A. Weaver, who was seriously wounded in the leg and pinned down by enemy machine gun fire. Hanson went out in front of US lines and, after reaching the wounded Pvt. Weaver, he stopped the bleeding and carried him to safety. For the extraordinary heroism in combat, Hanson was decorated with the Navy Cross. He was also decorated with the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

and French Croix de guerre 1914–1918 with Palm by the Government of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. After the war, Hanson remained in the Marine Corps and served during the

Allied occupation of the Rhineland The Occupation of the Rhineland from 1 December 1918 until 30 June 1930 was a consequence of the collapse of the Imperial German Army in 1918, after which Council of the People's Deputies, Germany's provisional government was obliged to agree ...

. He subsequently resigned from the Marine Corps, but stayed in the Marine Corps Reserve. During World War II, Hanson was recalled to the active service and was assigned to the

Camp Elliott Camp Kearny was a U.S. military base (first Army, later Navy) in San Diego County, California, on the site of the current Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. It operated from 1917 to 1946. The base was named in honor of Brigadier General Stephen ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

as Chief Morale Officer. He later served as Fleet Marine Force recreation officer and was responsible for planning of tours of Pacific bases by his troupe of 30 Marine entertainers. He retired with the rank of

Coaching career

Hanson officially began his coaching career at Western after studying under

Knute Rockne Knut (Norwegian and Swedish), Knud (Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used whi ...

(hence the nickname "Rock"). Hanson had the distinction of being the football coach the first year that a

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

athlete, Ernest Page, played on Western's team, as well as having the longest tenure of any head football coach ever at Western. Hanson was the head football coach for at Western Illinois State Teachers College—now known as

—in Macomb, Illinois, serving for 16 seasons, from 1926 to 1941, and compiling a record of 56–59–12. Hanson gained permission from the Marine Corps to use the name "Fighting Leathernecks" for Western's teams. To this day, Western Illinois University is the only

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

in the United States that has permission through the

Department of the Navy Navy Department or Department of the Navy may refer to: * United States Department of the Navy, * Navy Department (Ministry of Defence), in the United Kingdom, 1964-1997 * Confederate States Department of the Navy, 1861-1865 * Department of the Na ...

to use the United States Marine Corps official seal and mascot, the bulldog, along with the nickname. Western's mascot, a bulldog named Colonel Rock, or more commonly "Rocky", was named in honor of Hanson, as was Western's football field, Hanson Field.

Death

Hanson died on January 4, 1982, at McDonough Hospital in Macomb.

Head coaching record

College football

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson, Ray 1895 births 1982 deaths American men's basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Western Illinois Leathernecks athletic directors Western Illinois Leathernecks baseball coaches Western Illinois Leathernecks football coaches Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball coaches High school football coaches in Connecticut United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I Basketball coaches from Minnesota United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps colonels Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Recipients of the Silver Star New York University alumni Springfield College (Massachusetts) alumni People from Red Wing, Minnesota United States Marine Corps reservists Military personnel from Minnesota