Son of base's namesake passes away

  • Published
  • By David Kendziora and Chris Baierschmidt
  • Ogden Air Logistics Center History Office
It's "like father, like son, like grandson" for the family whose name has been immortalized by Hill Air Force Base.

The only son of Ployer "Pete" Hill, the base's namesake who was also named Ployer P. Hill, recently passed away on January 21, 2008, at the age of 83 in Florida.

The son followed in his father's footsteps as a career officer in the nation's military air service, initially during World War II. He first flew with his dad at the age of 10 and, in 1943 at the age of 18, joined the Army Air Forces.

During the war, he flew combat missions in various aircraft including the P-61 and P-70. When the war ended he separated from the service, earned an engineering degree from MIT, and returned to the service during the Korean War.

This time he stayed and served a tour at Hill AFB as a Major from 1964 to 1966, prior to a combat tour in Vietnam. As a lieutenant colonel, Hill retired from the USAF after 27 years of active duty in 1974.

The actual namesake, Ployer P. "Pete" Hill Sr., was an early American military air pioneer who earned his wings in 1918 at the age of 24. Cut from the same cloth as "Chuck" Yeager and others like them, Hill senior flew everything from wood, wire and glue biplanes to the first all-metal airplanes, ultimately becoming Chief of the Air Corps' Flight Test Branch at Wright Field, Ohio.

There in 1935, he was killed piloting the original model of the B-17. In 1939, American airpower leader "Hap" Arnold helped to name our airfield for him, sharing that "he was one of our best and richly deserves this honor." Hill Field's first commanding officer, Col. Morris Berman, officially activated the site in 1940.

Colonel Hill is survived by five children and 10 grandchildren. One of his children, Douglas H. Hill, graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1972, likewise served a distinguished USAF career, and is now the Airbus Chief Pilot with United Airlines. While on active duty from 1972 to 1979, he flew C-141 A and B series aircraft, and others with the Air Force Reserve from 1979 to 1993, when he retired.

Colonel Hill's other children are Michael Peter Hill, Gail Elaine Hill Smith, Christopher Scott Hill, and Elizabeth Hill, who all resided on base during their father's 1964-1966 tour here.

Their children, our base namesake's great grandchildren, are Dana, Julie, Spencer, Chandler Anne, Cassie, Ryan, Shannon, Shaughn, Julia, and Lauren.