Marine veterans combat SF’s pandemic pollution with brand-new cleanup effort

When Kyle Hansen enlisted in the United States Marine Corps straight out of high school in Orange County, he never imagined he’d be traveling the country cleaning up other people’s trash. He had ambitions of moving up the ranks as an infantryman.

But nearly four years into his service as a squad leader, he was blown from a vehicle when it slipped into a ditch and hit an exposed gas line during a training exercise. The accident left Hansen with third and fourth degree burns and a traumatic brain injury, cutting his military dreams short.