 Owen B. (O.B.) Hill – Private to Sergeant (Oops!) to Private.
Served with distinction in the Hq1 Communications Platoon as Battalion Mess-age Center Chief from March 1943 to August 1945.
O.B. Hill was a Hq1 “Hell’s Half Acre” survivor (See Chapter II, Combat Operations – Normandy).
O.B. loved his family, his country, and the Association he founded in 1975 – see Chapter IV. He was dedicated to the Association and the welfare of its members.
O.B. was a distinguished member of the “Greatest of the Greatest Generation.” He was an outstanding soldier, a trusted comrade, and a cherished friend.
O.B. provided information for this summary before his death in 2002, and his WW II comrades augmented it wherever appropriate.
“I was born October 8, 1921 in Fort Branch, IN and educated there and in Princeton, IN. On October 21, 1940, I married Margaret Boyles. We raised two children. Linda Ann born August 12, 1941 and Joe David arrived September 14, 1948.
Soon after Pearl Harbor, I enlisted in the Army and volunteered for air-borne training. However, I had to complete basic training, before I was sent to the Parachute School at Fort Benning, GA.
After I made the five jumps and qualified as parachutist, I was selected for additional training as a communications and demolition specialist.
I completed the training, in March 1943, and was sent to Camp Mac-kall, NC for duty with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (508th PIR). I was assigned to the Hq1 Communications Platoon, and served therein until the end of WW II.
At Camp Mackall, I received advanced infantry and airborne operations training. I participated in numerous field exercises, and made parachute jumps with equipment. Our regiment participated as the aggressor force in maneuvers in Tennessee, and someone decided we were ready for combat. At that time, I was a Sergeant, operating the Battalion Message Center. | 
