The Battle of Okinawa - The Last Great Battle of WWII
I was inducted into the Army September 11, 1944 in Indianapolis, Indiana just after turning eighteen. My basic training was at Camp Blanding Florida. I was at Fort Ord in California, Fort Lawton, Washington and from there I shipped to Oahu, Hawaii and to Saipan in the Marianas before going to Okinawa.
I served on Okinawa with the 96th Division of the US Army, as a replacement, at the beginning of May of 1945 a month after the historic invasion of April 1st. I was there till August of 1945, leaving when a typhonn hit the island.
I was on the way to Mindoro when the first atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. When the 96th Division went home, I was transfered to the 86th Division on Luzon.
Then I was transferred to AFWESPAC headquarters where I was on the staff of the newspaper, the Daily Pacifican. I left the Philipines and returned home October of 1946 via Cape Mears troop ship. I was honorably discharged in December of 1946 at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. (2years 2 months 22 days)
Click Image to learn more about Hill's Military Experiences just to read this pdf file : "Blue Star in the Window."
William R Hill, also known as Bill Hill, Richard, Great Grandaddy, Grandad, Dad, Uncle Richard, and assorted variations, resided in Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife of 71 years, Margaret Jeane. They had four Baby Boomers, eleven grandchildren and Twenty-one great-grandchildren!
He was greatly loved and respected by all.
Janet, Paul Joyce with Daddy Before Bill was born
The Hill Baby Boomers: Paul, Bill, and Joyce
William R Hill X 3
William Richard, William Robert, William Ryan
At a Hill Family Reunion 2003
Hello Dad,
Looked at your page last night and was greatly impressed with the work you are doing.
As your name sake you are a hard person to follow. All the things we know about you and your life are very important to us all.
There were none before you and there won't be any after who have given so much to enjoy life with as you Dad.
Thank you for your Service to our county.
Love Always
William R Hill
By the way Daddy-Oh "Happy 88th Birthday"
And Many Many More
Dad,
I would like to take your birthday to express what your service in WWII has meant to me. From my earliest memories of you I have have always proudly viewed you as a soldier.
I remember several times when you tried in vane to teach me the manual of arms. I never learned how to do it but I loved to watch you as you demonstrated it to me. I admired you so.
Then there was the trip of a lifetime to Okinawa. I was so proud to be with you and other members of the greatest generation that, for better or worst, shaped the world today.
So Happy Birthday to my hero.
Love, Paul
Richard,
I love you more as you get older and I get older. We got married right after you got home from the service. We started our family. It's getting bigger and better all the time. You have been a wonderful and caring husband. You just get nicer and nicer. (Narrated during Alzheimer disease)
Happy Birthday, Richard. I love you, Jeane
Ben Marching with Grandad -
"Left - Right - Left - Right... Halt - One - Two!"
"DEADEYE - READY"
"Grandad is my Hero"
"I have done without anything for so long, now i can do everything with nothing."
Dear Grandad,
You have been one of the most influential people in my life. From you I learned love and acceptance, enthusiasm and curiosity. You really have a knack for genuinely valuing people, and making them feel valued.
Thanks for your service to our country, and for making it your life's work to document the service of men like yourself from a very personal perspective. Your generation took on the great catastrophe of our time, and coming through the experience gave you an uncommon graciousness. This quality has not gone unnoticed.
Watching you engage my 1-1/2 year old daughter with the same love and attention you have given to all of your grandchildren through the years was heart-warming. You are amazing as always. Happy 88th birthday! Jake
Dad,
It has been my absolute pleasure and honor to have you as my Father-in-Law. I am so pleased to have known you all these years. You are a man of great character and stature. You answered your country's call to duty and faced the terror of battle without question. You survived the war and gave me my wife of 32 years. For that, I am everlastingly grateful and in your debt. Happy Birthday and wishes for many more.
William R Hill (Bill Hill) & daughter, Jan Wharton, have developed Remember the Deadeyes as a team. Dad provides all the Army information and data, and Jan does the web work.
"Dad, I love and respect you beyond measure. Doing Remember the Deadeyes together has been so much fun, and I know you much better now. I am very proud to be your daughter. Thank you for your service to our country both back in the Army, and for what all you do for the Army now. Thank you for being my Dad, and for being the grandfather of my children and the super great grandfather you are!"
I Love YOU Bunches - "Jant"
Our Bench, a gift from family for our 60th Anniversary