PHILADELPHIA, May 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- V-E Day on May
8 marks the 75th anniversary of the Allied victory in
Europe. Veterans such as
Joseph "Joe" Hansbury returned home to start a new life after the
war, and in doing so planted the seeds of prosperity for U-Haul®, a
product of the peace for which they fought.
U-Haul is celebrating 75 years of service in 2020. WWII
Navy veteran L.S. "Sam" Shoen and his wife, Anna Mary Carty Shoen, conceived U-Haul in
June 1945 when they recognized a
basic need while moving up the West Coast, having abandoned most of
their belongings since one-way trailer rentals did not yet
exist.
From that idea, an industry was born and a new level of mobility
became attainable for every American family.
To commemorate both anniversaries, U-Haul is celebrating former
Team Members and U-Haul neighborhood dealers who served in WWII,
such as Philadelphia native Joe
Hansbury.
Mechanic and a Soldier
Hansbury was born in June 1918. He
attended Frankford High School, then Mastbaum Vocational
School, where he learned to be a mechanic. He graduated
from Mastbaum in 1937 and went to work for a bus
company as a mechanic's helper.
In just three years, he would become the night foreman of a
truck shop. During the 1940s at General Motors Truck and
Coach Division, Hansbury worked his way up the ladder to
factory branch manager.
In June 1944, Hansbury joined the Army as a
combat infantryman. He served in Europe with the 62nd
Armored Infantry Battalion, part of Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army. Hansbury was a
rifleman and expert with light machine guns. He saw combat
in Naples-Foggia, Sicily,
Normandy, and the Rhineland and Ardennes Campaigns in Central
Europe. He was awarded a Bronze Star, European African Middle
Eastern Theater Ribbon, and the World War II Victory Ribbon.
"I went in a private and came out a
private," Hansbury stated modestly during a 1978
interview. "I was just happy as hell to get out."
After the war, he worked at Pyramid Motor Freight, a
trucking firm serving the Eastern Seaboard, as general
superintendent responsible for the operation of 150
tractors, 500 trailers and 100 city trucks. Hansbury also
worked as a general superintendent for a
concrete manufacturer, overseeing 10 repair shops. In
1962, a Christmastime layoff left him without a job.
U-Haul Career
That development was to the benefit of U-Haul. In January
1963, Hansbury began his 23-year career with the DIY
moving company as a shop foreman at the U-Haul-owned Willow Grove (Pa.) Manufacturing Co.
In 1967, Hansbury relocated to Phoenix, where U-Haul International was
headquartered. Over the years, he held a variety of repair and
management positions, including truck foreman, repair shop
manager, manager of repair and maintenance, manager of
manufacturing and repair, vice president of repair and maintenance,
and executive vice president.
In 1988, in recognition of his contributions to
truck-engineering concepts and implementing workable ways to
improve production and performance, U-Haul gave a "JH"
(Joe Hansbury) equipment
designation to its new 26-foot Super Mover truck –
which remains its largest model on roadways today.
Hansbury passed away in December
1985. He is survived by his daughter-in-law, Beryl Hansbury, three grandchildren
and eight great-grandchildren.
The Shoens started U-Haul upon Sam's discharge with $4,000 of accumulated Navy pay
and the courage formed by the cauldron of WWII. With the
help of other veterans, the young couple forged their new
enterprise from the freedom that victory produced.
Veteran Initiative
Today, U-Haul serves all 50 states and 10 Canadian
provinces, helping an estimated 11 million families move every
year. Hansbury is one of the many veterans who laid the
foundation for the present prosperity U-Haul enjoys.
U-Haul continues to aggressively recruit veterans and gives them
preference in the hiring process, having been recognized repeatedly
as one of the nation's top veteran-friendly employers. U-Haul is
also committed to honoring veterans and supporting veteran causes.
This is accomplished through direct assistance to veteran groups,
as well as participation and sponsorship of Memorial Day and
Veterans Day parades, and Pearl
Harbor tributes.
These 2020 tributes will peak triumphantly with the Pearl Harbor
Aviation Museum's dedication of the renovated Ford Island Control
Tower on Aug. 29. U-Haul Pacific
Theater veterans' bios and photos will be displayed in the tower
lobby. The tower will offer a new elevator, gifted by U-Haul CEO
Joe Shoen, providing public access
to the observation deck where America's lone WWII aviation
battlefield can be revered and our heroes remembered.
U-Haul is one of a myriad of companies built by these incredible
veterans, who are to be saluted and remembered during this 75th
anniversary celebration. Thank you, Joe
Hansbury.
Find more veteran tributes in the History and Culture section
of myuhaulstory.com.
About U-Haul
Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of
do-it-yourself movers, with a network of 22,000 locations across
all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7
offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day
through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our
proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has
enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 167,000 trucks,
120,000 trailers and 43,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly
697,000 rooms and 60.7 million square feet of self-storage space at
owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer
of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket
industry, and is the largest retailer of propane in the
U.S.
For our COVID-19 information page, click on
uhaul.com/announcement.
Contact:
Jeff Lockridge
Sebastien Reyes
E-mail: publicrelations@uhaul.com
Phone: 602-760-4941
Website: uhaul.com
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SOURCE U-Haul