He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart, his citation stated: Fighting desperately in hand-to-hand combat against overwhelming hostile forces, Private Hanna refused to be dislodged from his position and after exacting a tremendous toll of the enemy, heroically died at his post.She was launched 4 July 1944 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newark, New Jersey; sponsored by Mrs. William P. Hanna, mother; and commissioned 27 January 1945.

Departing New York 9 April she escorted Akutan (AE-13) to Cristobal, Panama Canal Zone, then sailed via San Diego, California, arriving Pearl Harbor 4 May.

Departing Tokyo 24 October 1945 Hanna returned to Eniwetok and then sailed to Guam, where she took up duty as air-sea rescue and weather reporting ship.

Three months later Hanna returned to the western Pacific and resumed her shore bombardment missions in addition to escorting damaged vessels and investigation of fishing craft.

On 24 November 1952 Hanna came under heavy return fire from North Korean shore batteries and was hit amidships in the aft fireroom, mortally wounding MM3 Robert Potts.

After operations off the California coast Hanna departed 19 November for an island-hopping cruise of the Central Pacific, returning to San Diego 6 June 1954.

In addition she participated in a rescue mission involving the Chinese Nationalist merchantman SS Ping Tung that had run aground on Yokoate Shima, an island of the Ryukyu chain.