| Major William L. Hill | |
|---|---|
|
File:File:William L. Hill.jpeg William L. Hill | |
| Birth name | William Lee Hill |
| Nickname | Dubie |
| Place of birth | Huntington, West Virginia |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army Air Force |
| Years of service | 1943-1964 |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | |
| Awards |
Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "wikitext").
|
William "Dubie" Lee Hill (1920-1981) was an American military aviator who served during World War II as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen. Hill was shot down twice during WWII,[1] and he has been given credit for shooting down one enemy plane.[2]
Early life[]
Hill grew up in Huntington, West Virginia and had one sister named Lilian.[citation needed]
Military service[]
The Tuskegee Airmen's aircraft had distinctive markings that led to the name, "Red Tails."[N 1]
Hill graduated on 5 December 1943 .[4] He received his "wings" and was sent to the Tuskegee. He had the rank of flight officer and he received his wings from the Tuskegee Institute and he was assigned to the 332d Fighter Group.[5][6]
Hill was shot down twice and he suffered severe burns to his body and his face.[1]
A member of the 302nd Fighter Squadron, Hill is credited with shooting down an enemy Messerschmitt Bf 109 on August 23, 1944.[2] Hill was escorting B-24 Liberator bombers to Markersdorf, Germany when his escort mission encountered 14 Bf 109s. One of the B-24 bombers was said to be shot down on that mission.[5]
Hill continued in active service after the war and in 1947 he was trained as a meteorologist, and served two additional tours overseas. He achieved the rank of major and then retired in 1964 from Grand Forks Air Force Base.[7]
Awards[]
- Air Medal x 3
- Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the Tuskegee Airmen in 2006[1][8]
- Purple Heart
See also[]
- Dogfights (TV series)
- Executive Order 9981
- List of Tuskegee Airmen
- Military history of African Americans
- List of Tuskegee Airmen Cadet Pilot Graduation Classes
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Alexandersen, Christian (18 May 2009). "Local Tuskegee Airmen honored". Herald Dispatch. HD Media Company, LLC. https://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/recent_news/local-tuskegee-airmen-honored/article_46e14451-ace0-5c10-9d79-b833f13c0b8b.html.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Smith, Erica (26 September 2009). "Aerial victory credits for the Tuskegee Airmen". STLtoday.com. https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/aerial-victory-credits-for-the-tuskegee-airmen/article_2d982758-69ca-11df-9015-00127992bc8b.html.
- ↑ Rice, Markus. "The Men and Their Airplanes: The Fighters." Tuskegee Airmen, 1 March 2000.
- ↑ "List of Pilot Graduates". Tuskegee University. https://www.tuskegee.edu/support-tu/tuskegee-airmen/tuskegee-airmen-pilot-listing.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Caver, Joseph; Ennels, Jerome A.; Haulman, Daniel Lee (2011). The Tuskegee Airmen: An Illustrated History, 1939-1949. NewSouth Books. p. 179. ISBN 9781588382443. https://books.google.com/books?id=1qC51h8HrWQC&q=william+Lee+Hill+tuskegee+airmen+shot+down&pg=PA179. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ↑ "Tuskegees Latest Graduates with Wings and Commissions". Cleveland, Call and Post. 25 December 1943. https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-dec-25-1943-2821759/.
- ↑ Cole, Ronald H. (2006). "Air Power History". p. 29. https://www.blackhistory.mit.edu/sites/default/files/media/document/The%20Tuskegee%20%28Weather%29%20Airmen_2006.pdf.
- ↑ "Public Law 109–213—APR. 11, 2006 Congressional Gold Medal to the Tuskegee Airmen". US Library of Congress. 11 April 2006. https://www.congress.gov/109/plaws/publ213/PLAW-109publ213.pdf.
Notes[]
External links[]
- Tuskegee Airmen at Tuskegee University
- Tuskegee Airmen Archives at the University of California, Riverside Libraries.
- Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.
- Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)
- Tuskegee Airmen National Museum
The original article can be found at William Lee Hill and the edit history here.