James Hanson was the first person appointed to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, from the state of South Dakota. He graduated with the Class of 1899. After serving in China, the Philippine Islands, and World War I, from 1923 to 1927 he served as military attach at the United States embassy at Santiago, Chile. He was serving as a U.S. Army Colonel at the time of his death in 1927.