Hugh Henry Hanley was born on April 29, 1923, in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey. He was the son of George and Mary Hanley. He was married to Ann F. Hanley. He enlisted in the service on October 27, 1942. He served in the 765th Bomb Squadron, 461st Bomb Group, Heavy, as a Flight Officer and Bombardier of B-24J #42-50953, nicknamed "Flying Finger," during World War II.

On December 17, 1944, the “Flying Finger” took off from Torretta, Italy, as part of Mission No. 151 to bomb the synthetic oil refinery at Odertal, Germany. The “Flying Finger,” piloted by 2Lt Phillip Crossman, was last seen around 11:45 a.m. near Muglitz, Moravia. It never returned. The aircraft went down south of Neutitschein (now Nový Jičín, Czech Republic) after encountering heavy flak and German fighters, with four crewmen killed and the rest wounded or taken prisoner.

FO Hanley was wounded, captured, taken prisoner, and held at Stalag Luft 1 in Barth-Vogelsang, Prussia. After the war, he graduated from Fordham University, served again in Germany during the Korean War, and ended his military service as a First Lieutenant. He later worked as a sales executive until retiring in 1984. Hanley died on April 24, 2009, and is now buried in the Orange County Veterans Cemetery, Goshen, Orange County, New York, USA.

Source of information: 461st.org, www.americanairmuseum.com, www.legacy.com