Pilot For Four Presidents, Flew JFK's Body From Dallas

Aero-News has learned Lewis Hanson, a pilot for four presidents who brought John F. Kennedy's body back from Dallas aboard Air Force One, died on December 27. He was 81.

Hanson became a flight crew member aboard "Independence," the modified C-118 Liftmaster that carried President Harry S Truman aloft in the days after WWII. He subsequently remained on Presidential flight detail throughout the terms of Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson, before retiring in 1969.

A retired Air Force colonel, Hanson also flew such notables as Winston Churchill and the shah of Iran while in service to the president.

His saddest flight, according to Hanson, was also his most famous. On the morning of November 22, 1963, Hanson watched President John F. Kennedy step from Air Force One -- by then, one of three Boeing 707s -- and head to a speaking engagement in downtown Dallas.

Hanson then left the airport to visit his mother-in-law, according to the New York Times -- only to watch the news of JFK's assassination at Dealey Plaza on television. He rushed back to Love Field, and as co-pilot flew the former president's body back to Washington.

Later that day, he stood in the doorway of Air Force One, and watched Lyndon Johnson take the oath of office with a shaken Jackie Kennedy standing by his side. Hanson had served as either pilot or co-pilot on every flight Kennedy had taken as president... including the last.

After retiring, Hanson settled into a life far removed from the spotlight of the presidency... returning to Center Harbor, NH, to raise cattle and chickens, and produce maple syrup.

FMI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Force_One