Captain Hasselbaum was a veteran of World War II. During the Korean War, he was a member of the 656th Aircraft Control and Tactical Warning Squadron. On 19 June 1951, he was completing a routine training flight from Schenectady to Rome, New York, when his F-47 fighter plane crashed on landing at Griffis Air Base, Rome, killing him.

Hasselbaum was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.