Dane Hansen was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1921. He enlisted in the U. S. Army shortly after the start of World War II and after finishing basic training, attended Officers' Candidate School. Upon graduation from OCS at the rank of Second Lieutenant, he followed his avid interest in flight and selected the Army Air Force as his branch of service. He was assigned to a B-26 Squadron and was initially stationed in Florida. He was killed in a mid-air collision between his plane and another B-26 during a training exercise while stationed in Florida.