Walter Martin Hasenfus (March 18, 1916 – December 8, 1944) was an American

canoeist Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

who competed in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

. He was born in

Needham, Massachusetts Needham ( ) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. A suburb of Boston, its population was 32,091 at the 2020 U.S. Census. It is home of Olin College. History Early settlement Needham was first settled in 1680 with the purchase of a ...

and is the younger brother of

Joseph Hasenfus Joseph Louis Hasenfus (May 29, 1913 – August 20, 1999) was an American canoeist who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was born in Needham, Massachusetts and died in Brunswick, Maine. He was the older brother of Walter Hasenfus. In ...

. In 1936, he finished fifth together with his brother

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

in the C-2 10000 metre event. He was killed in action during

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 ...

, while serving with the 307th Infantry, 77th Division in the South Pacific, most likely in the Philippines.

References

External links

Walter Hasenfus at Sports Reference.com
1916 births 1944 deaths American male canoeists Canoeists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic canoeists for the United States United States Army personnel killed in World War II United States Army soldiers {{US-canoe-bio-stub