WW II veteran gets diploma

Hill was recognized by the Masons for founding High Twelve Club 720.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- It took James W. Hill an extra 59 years, but he finally got the high-school diploma he missed when he left school just before graduation in May 1943 to join the Army in the midst of World War II.
During a surprise ceremony Friday at Youngstown Masonic Temple, Hill got his diploma from East High School, along with cap and gown.
He also got an award from his masonic lodge for founding the High Twelve Club 720 in Youngstown.
"I didn't do it alone. It was a group of men who worked hard. And, behind every good man is a good woman," he said, praising his wife, Winnie.
Birthday party, too
To top off the day, the Masons threw a birthday party for Hill, who was 78 on Tuesday.
Hill, of Boardman, who thought he was to provide a program on pyrographic art (wood burning) at Friday's lodge meeting, said he was surprised by the events planned by his wife.
He said getting the diploma was a great honor, something he thought would never happen. "But, to serve my country was worth the sacrifice," he said.
The program began with a reading entitled "This is Your Life, Jim Hill," which took him from his birth June 11, 1924, in Youngstown, growing up through the Depression in the 1930s, joining the Army and returning from military service to work at Stambaugh-Thompson Co. and then at Dave's Appliance as TV service manager.
His business
He took over Dave's in 1970, renamed it Hill's T.V. and ran the business until retiring at 65.
He joined Youngstown Masonic Lodge 615 in 1955, transferred to St. Alban Lodge in 1993; was official photographer for Al Koran Shrine for 18 years; and is a member of numerous other Masonic bodies.
High Twelve's mission is to help youth by raising money for scholarships awarded by the Masonic Wolcott Scholarship Foundation, and for other youth causes such as Forum Health Tod Children's Hospital.
Army duty
Hill was a communication specialist with the 121st Combat Engineers when they landed on Omaha Beach in the dark about a hour before the main waves of the Normandy invasion on D-Day.
His unit drove through France and Germany, where they were surrounded by German troops in the Ardennes Forest, a battle survived by only 60 of its 166 members.
Was injured
The unit continued to march toward the Elbe River, where he was bayoneted by a German soldier, whom Hill said he shot with his .45-caliber pistol.
Ironically, Hill said, apparently unknown to the German soldier, the Armistice had already been signed and Hill never received a Purple Heart for being wounded.
Furthermore, a needle used in the hospital to give him shots to ward off infection was contaminated. The resulting infection caused him to lose much of his hip and spend 18 months in the hospital, before being discharged Aug. 10, 1946, with 70 percent disability.
Hill is chaplain of the Ohio High Twelve organization.
Married eight years, Hill and Winnie have five children between them, 18 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.