Edwin J. Hill

Infobox Military Person
name= Edwin Joseph Hill
born= Birth date|1894|10|4
died= Death date and age|1941|12|7|1894|10|4
placeofbirth= Officially Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, possibly Saba.
placeofdeath= Killed during the Attack on Pearl Harbor
placeofburial=


caption= Chief Boatswain Edwin J. Hill
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America
branch=United States Navy
serviceyears= 1912-1941
rank= Chief Petty Officer (Chief Boatswain)
commands=
unit=
battles= Attack on Pearl Harbor
awards= Medal of Honor
laterwork=

Edwin Joseph Hill posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his heroism during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.

Biography

Hill's birth records indicate that he was born October 4, 1894 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (However, surviving family members have stated that Hill may have actually been born on the ancestral Caribbean island of Saba, and as did his uncle forge a birth certificate in order to enlist in the U.S. Navy.) Hill enlisted in the United States Navy in 1912, rising to the rank of Chief Boatswain. He is a first cousin to Captain (later Rear Admiral) Herman J. Kossler, commander of the submarine U.S.S. "Cavalla" (SS-244) during World War II and a recipient of the Navy Cross and three Silver Stars.

During the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he was serving on board USS "Nevada" (BB-36). In the midst of the attack, he led the ship's line-handling detail in casting off from the quays alongside Ford Island so that "Nevada" could get underway. In particular, Hill is noted for having dove off the back of the "Nevada" into the harbor, climbing onto the dock to release the battleship from its mooring, diving back into the harbor to swim after the ship as it steamed away, and climbing back up the "Nevada" to resume his duties onboard during the attack. He was killed by an enemy bomb that struck the bow of the ship, claiming the lives of Hill and 46 other "Nevada" crewmen. Hill had been attempting to drop anchor at the end of the battleship's brief sortie during his death. Hill's body was found impacted with bullet wounds, suggesting that he may have been killed by gunfire; whether or not these wounds were sustained before or after the bomb blast will never be known, and his Medal of Honor citation reports the bomb blast as being the cause of death.

Several surviving "Nevada" crewmen, who at time were young men of 18 and 19 years old, credit Hill with saving their lives by ordering them during the action to take protective cover behind the ship's gun turrets. It may be surmised that the veteran Hill would have recognized that these younger sailors, being completely mentally unprepared for a sudden full-scale sneak attack, would have been panicking and at great risk of being "cannon fodder" while on deck, prompting his order for them to take cover. On reflection, these former sailors mention that Hill, who was 47 years old at the time of the attack and had 30 years of naval service, had a level of respect on par with the captain of the "Nevada" himself.

For his heroism during the Pearl Harbor action, Chief Boatswain Hill was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. He is buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (plot A-895) in Honolulu, Hawii.

Namesake

In 1943, the destroyer escort USS "Hill" (DE-141) was named in his honor.

ee also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients

Medal of Honor citation

Medal of Honor citation::For distinguished conduct in the line of his profession, extraordinary courage, and disregard of his own safety during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. During the height of the strafing and bombing, Chief Boatswain Hill led his men of the linehandling details of the U.S.S. Nevada to the quays, cast off the lines and swam back to his ship. Later, while on the forecastle, attempting to let go the anchors, he was blown overboard and killed by the explosion of several bombs.

ee also

References

:NHC
*cite web|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-h/ej-hill.htm
title=Chief Boatswain Edwin J. Hill, USN, (1894-1941)
work=Online Library of Selected Images
date=December 3, 2000
publisher=Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy
* [http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/wwII-g-l.html Medal of Honor recipients, WWII: Edwin J. Hill]