Line up for the Celebration parade will be at Peck Park on the South side of Ottawa, IL at 2:00 PM

An Airborne Gliderman who like most Airborne men say they are no Hero. Drafted in 1944, George Hanselman served during WWII participating in Operation Varsity. They were a floating duck up there with anti-aircraft fire all around them, despite that, they landed safely when others did not. Hanselman was part of a team that placed mines on Bridges in case the bridges could not be held. Operation Varsity was an Allied victory. It was considered the largest Airborne operation in history in a single day in one place. Hanselman received a Bronze star, but said there were other guys who did more then me. Humbly spoken like the true Hero he is. After V-E day, their next mission - the invasion on Japan. "If we would have invadedJapan, it would have been a bloody deal. We got word that the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, another 3 days later on Nagasaki. Japan surrendered. On December 20, 1945, Hanselman was discharged from the Army. He came back to Ottawa to work 52 years at the glass factory and to raise a family. He was married to Dora Tyler (who has crossed over) and had 3 children. They are Donna Downey, Norma Day, and son George who is a veteran of the Cold War. George married Marge Weihman in 2007 and they reside in South Ottawa, IL