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William Richard Hill,

 
Deadeye
1926-2018
96th Infantry Division
Co M 382 Regiment
 
Okinawa
 
 
 
 
 
 
You May Go Directly To these pages:
 
         
   
   
   
   
       

William R. Hill

"If there is something you can do, even if it's a small thing, that will make someone's day - DO IT!"

For Larger Salute Click
August 25, 1926   February 16, 2018

Click for PDF file of Complete Obituary

 

starMilitary Service in Okinawa

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)

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Click Image to learn more about Hill's Military Experiences just to read this pdf file : "Blue Star in the Window."

Mortar Squad 2R
 
With my buddy Ken Morgan on Mindora
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In back Ken Morgan, Dutch DeHann, Jones, GI Moss and Don Johnson.
In front Slats Johnson, Whitey Sergeant, Barney Avery and Bill Hill

     
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Alton, Anderson, Hill
On a Water Buffalo
With an Army Jeep
 
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Bill Hill trained at Camp Blanding, in Florida, 1945
     
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86th Infantry Hawkeye Patch

   

18 years old, just out of highschool and in the US Army.

Hill served in the 86th Infantry Division in his final year of service. He was an editor on the staff of the Daily Pacifican

     

 

Tent Buddies

In Manila
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3The Return to Okinawa

 

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"The Trip Back to Okinawa" 2000 Valor Tours

Click for downloadable PDF file

Leaving for Okinawa

My older son, Paul, went with me on my trip Back to Okinawa

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star"Remember the Deadeyes" by David Neville

 A Special Honor

Compoer David Neville wrote this Symphony in Honor of William R Hill, a friend of his. It is a tribute to the 96th Infantry Division WWII.

Thank You, David, He would have been so pleased!

 

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eWWII School Presentations - Click any image to go to presentations.
Click image to go to these presentations
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Carmel High School
Brownsburg Middle School
Elementary Schools
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eIndy Honor Flight Indianapolis to Washington DC

 
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Link to Honor Flight
Indy Honor Flight
My Chaperone, Paige Wages
 
starReturning Home from the Indiana Honor Flight
 
Family Greetings
 
     
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3 Reunion Thoughts
     
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Denver, CO Reunion 2006
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Hill enjoying a New Generation Deadeye  

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wHonorable Experiences    (click each to read the PDF)
 
star  Family Photos  

On November 9, 1946, William R. Hill and Margaret Jeane Bartholomew were married. That was the beginning of a wonderful adventure.

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.

Your loving son,   Willie

Fishing in Colorado

Thank you, Grandad, for all you have done for our family and our country. Our America would not be what it is without you and your buddies.

I share your wonderful website with my students every Veteran's Day and they all soak it in and explore your story,

I am so very grateful that I am a part of your family and the first person I met when I was born.

Love Always,    Betsy Boots

Our SUPER MAN - GRANDAD!

Thank you Grandad for your service to our country. Also, thank you for your
unfailing commitment to our family.

You are indeed a fine member of the"Greatest Generation" and I am so happy to be your granddaughter.     Love, Kim 

               

Thank you, Kim and Sophie for making the "Jelly Sandwich" Presentation possible!

     
From Great Granddaughter, Elle Jones
Grandad Hill with the Jones Kids
 
     

Jeane and I, February 2, 2015

at the Garfield Park Conservatory, Indianapolis

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

Our Bench at Eagle Creek State Park

 
Everyday at home on the Computer
 
Working on Remember the Deadeyes!
 
   
 
     
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