Description	U.S. Army M3 fighting or trench knife and M8 fiberglass sheath. Spear point blade is 6.750" long with 3.5" long sharpened false edge. Blade is .875" wide and .187" thick with Parkerized finish. Grip is 4.750" long and made of grooved stacked leather washers; angled steel cross guard 2.25" long, and steel pommel. Blade is marked "US IMPERIAL M3" Imperial Knife Co. was one of nine companies contracted to produce the knife. Flaming bomb ordnance mark on pommel. Sheath is made from olive drab colored fiberglass with steel throat marked "US M8 BM CO" and 8" long wrapped rawhide lace at tip of sheath. Back of sheath is crudely engraved "HANSEN ENGLAND 1942" and front of sheath has crudely marked letter "A." Belt loop is khaki colored cotton web material riveted to Parkerized steel fittings. Sheath has .625" wide khaki loop with steel ends and snap that goes around grip near pommel. Overall length of sheath is 12.250" The M3 was adopted in 1943 and was standard issue to U.S. Army paratroopers. It was often strapped to the lower leg. Used by Adrian Hansen during World War II. Adrian Donald Hansen was born in Eldorado, WI on 02/07/1919, the son of Margaret May Griffiths Hansen and Pearl Steven Hansen. He attended Slough Bridge School, Winnebago County, Wisconsin. Before World War II, he worked for his father and the Wisconsin Diamond Match Company. He entered the U. S. Army on September 29, 1942. He was in the 1st Battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division, 325 Glider Infantry. He was awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded in action in France in 1944. He also received the good Conduct Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Service Ribbon with one Silver Star for gallantry in action and one Bronze Battle Star for service above and beyond the call of duty, Glider Badge, five overseas Service Bars, Distinguished Unit Badge, Bronze Service Arrowhead, Combat Infantryman Badge and glider Wings. He also received a Presidential Citation for volunteering to go behind enemy lines to rescue troops in the Battle of the Bulge. He served with the 325th glider Infantry in French Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, Ireland, France, Holland, Belgium and Germany. He was part of the Normandy Invasion on D-Day. He served in Foreign Service for 2 years, 4 months, 16 days. He was honorably discharged on September 22, 1945. He returned to the Diamond Match Company to work until it closed. He worked for the Turner Horse Stables and the Universal Foundry, Oshkosh until he retired at age 62. He died 09/08/1998 in Oshkosh WI.
Dimension notes	Length is overall length of knife when in sheath. Length of knife alone is 11.7"
Dimensions	L-12.25 inches
Event	World War II
Material	Steel/Fiber/Leather
Object ID	2002.110.37
Object Name	Knife
People	Hansen, Adrian Donald
Place of Origin	United States of America
Used	Hansen, Adrian Donald
Year range to	1942

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Last modified on: July 22, 2007