Harry W. Hill
Harry Wilbur Hill (born April 7, 1890 in Oakland , † July 19, 1971 in Annapolis ) was an American admiral in the United States Navy . During the Pacific War , he commanded Amphibious Group Two , also known as the Fifth Amphibious Force , in several battles.
Life
He entered the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1907 and graduated in June 1911.
Hill supervised the equipment of the destroyer USS Dewey (DD-349) at the Bath Iron Works shipyard in 1934 and was then the ship's commanding officer from October 4, 1934 to June 17, 1935. This was his first command of a ship. He was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in 1935 . In May 1938 he completed the senior course at Naval War College .
Between June 1938 and February 1940 he was in the war planning department in the staff of the Commander in Chief (Supreme Commander) of the US fleet. He then served from 1940 to January 1942 in the War Planning Department in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations .
At the beginning of World War II, Hill took command of the heavy cruiser USS Wichita (CA-45) . He was deployed for several months in convoy protection with ships of the British Home Fleet to Murmansk .
On September 28, 1942, he was given command of Battleship Division Four . The battleship USS Maryland (BB-46) was its flagship ship in the South Pacific. He was also temporarily in command of a mixed task force that included battleships, escort aircraft carriers and other warships. It was the first US task force to include battleships and escort aircraft carriers.
From September 1943 to October 1945 he was in command of Amphibious Group Two , also known as the Fifth Amphibious Force . He commanded this unit at landing operations at the Battle of the Gilbert Islands , the Battle of the Marshall Islands , the Battle of the Mariana Islands , the Battle of Iwojima and the Battle of Okinawa . After the end of the war in August 1945 he commanded the force that the Sixth United States Army landed in southwest Japan for occupation service. From November 1, 1945 he took over the service as commandant of the Joint Forces Staff College . In June 1946, Vice Admiral Hill founded and directed the National War College , the highest educational institution of the armed forces and the US State Department, as the commandant . In September 1949 he became chairman of the General Board of the United States Navy (US Navy General Staff). On April 28, 1950, he became director of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis and commandant of the Severn River Naval Command . He remained in his position after his retirement from May 1, 1952 to August 1952. Admiral Hill last served from October 21, 1952 to May 21, 1954 as the person in charge of the Philadelphia Naval Asylum Veterans Home in Philadelphia .
Awards
He was awarded numerous medals. He has received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal twice .
The destroyer USS Harry W. Hill (DD-986) , commissioned on November 17, 1979 and decommissioned on May 29, 1998, bore his name.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hill, Harry W. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hill, Harry Wilbur (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American Admiral of the United States Navy |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 7, 1890 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Oakland |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 19, 1971 |
| Place of death | Annapolis |