Legion of Valor Museum

Arthur J. Hill: Director of the Legion of Valor Museum
Honorary Life Member - Legion of Valor

Arthur Hill, at age 27, volunteered for the Army Engineers shortly after Pearl Harbor. Because of his construction background, he was sent to Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, early in 1942 to a Special Service Engineer Regiment. On December 23, 1942, Art graduated from OCS and the Heavy Equipment School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, as a Second Lieutenant. At Camp Swift, Texas, he was assigned to the 146(C) Engineer Battalion as the Headquarters Company Commander with the additional duty of Battalion Motor Officer. He held this command, as Captain, with various additional duties until World War II's end. While at England's North Coastal area of Saunton Sands, the battalion helped build and operate an assault training center of enemy fortifications duplicated from secret aerial reconnaissance photos of the landing beaches and Seigfried line defenses. This lead to the spearheading of the Omaha Beach "D Day" landings at "H" hour plus 3 minutes across the English Channel on the 6th of June 1944. These five European Campaigns then followed: Normandy, Northern France, Ardenned/Alsace, Rhineland and Central Europe.

Following the German collapse, the 146(C) Engineers and other engineer groups of V Corps, were assisting with the debris clearance and restoration of utilities of battered Pilsen, Czechoslovakia. In Pilsen, Art was named director of the XXII Corps Heavy Equipment School for approximately 65 Czech civil engineers and heavy equipment operators from the V, VII, and XXII Corps.

While the U.S. was still at war with Japan, some men were thinking of home; others who lacked enough discharge points were thinking of their possible transfer to the Pacific theatre. Art lacked less than one point of the amount required for discharge and was slated as Base Commander at one of several embarkation centers for upgrading facilities for pending troop movements. He was at the Biarritz American University (an engineering school) in Southern France making preparations when he learned that he had received a foreign award, the Czech Military Medal. Now with enough points for discharge, the several jumps in grade no longer enticed him to remain in the military. He then returned to Czechoslovakia to say good-bye once again to his fellow officers and troops.

Upon returning home, after his January 8, 1946 discharge, Art worked in the petroleum industry for over 30 years, retiring in 1980 as president of Hill Oil Company in Fresno, California. Art and his wife B. J., now deceased, were married for over 50 years. Since April 1992, Art has enjoyed his volunteer work at the Legion of Valor Museum in Fresno, California, where he served as the Chief of Staff to the Director and founder of the Legion of Valor Museum, Major Chuck Monges NC. He also served during 1995-1996 as Commander of Fresno Post 4 of the American Legion.

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