The Hansen family visited Okinawa, Japan in October as the only family members of Private Dale Hansen, Wisner’s Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.
Luann Hansen Rabe and her husband, Rod, both grew up in Wisner and still have family there. Their visit was recognized through the dedication of a monument about the history of Camp Hansen, located just outside of Gate 2. The couple and their son are the only family to have visited Dale Hansen’s camp among the 10 military camps on Okinawa named for Congressional Medal of Honor recipients.
The planning of this trip started roughly six years ago when Luann started thinking about a visit to the camp. A foreign exchange student stayed with her parents for three weeks in 1973 and lived in Tokyo, and a visit to her old friend was another reason Luann thought the trek to Japan was important.
At the beginning of 2025, Luann contacted Senator Bacon’s office for contact information at Camp Hansen and got the email address for Joseph Scala, the Camp Director of Camp Hansen. A trip was planned and the family was set to arrive on October 15.
During their trip, the Hansen family visited monuments and learned additional history about the camp, were allowed to climb in a tank and transport truck and met two privates from Lincoln who were stationed on the camp.
Luann said she and her family thoroughly enjoyed sharing with the Marines details about Dale’s upbringing and the fact that her sister currently resides in the house where he was raised.
On their final day at the camp, the family saw some of the Marines participating in their monthly timed training exercises from their hotel window. As they left, Luann said her heart was heavy knowing she probably wouldn’t see the camp again. The family was humbled by the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity though, and they were glad to represent and honor their family.
AloJapan.com