Personal Narrative Manuscript/Mixed Material Audio Recording Eugene Hill, Jr. Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Korean War, 1950-1953
- Branch of Service: Navy; Army
- Unit of Service: 619th Ordnance Ammunition Company, 1st Army; Construction Battalion (NCB Seabee)
- Location of Service:
- Highest Rank: E-6
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/44094
Eugene Hill is blunt in admitting why he enlisted as a teenager. His North Carolina town was run by the Ku Klux Klan, and he felt there was no future for a young black man there, so he "joined the Army to learn how to kill," a skill he assumed he would need to survive in his home town. His tour of duty in Korea was mainly search and destroy missions with a small squad of men. Hill's careers in the Army and later the Navy included many stops, including two tours of duty in Vietnam. Along the way, that "blazing hot" hatred he held as a young man cooled as he was exposed to different cultures.
Eugene Hill, Jr. Collection
Interview / Recording
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PlayWhy he joined the Army; Ku Klux Klan ruled his North Carolina town and he wanted to learn to kill; admits that he mutilated enemy he killed in Korea because of the Korean belief that they could not go to heaven with any body parts missing. 00:01:11.1 - 00:02:43.8
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PlayAt Ft. Dix, officer staff was all white down to First Sergeant; knew he had no protection from the police back home; at 17 years and 4 months when he joined the military, he had a hatred that was "blazing hot;" at 21, he came to understand he could not kill all white males, so he would be more selective. 00:05:50.2 - 00:07:44.7
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PlayIn Korea, he and his squad went out on weekly search and destroy missions for six months; harassing the enemy; only one of his men wounded in that time. 00:07:58.3 - 00:09:03.4
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PlayWhen war broke out, he was stationed in Japan; came in to Pusan July 8; first time under fire: hitting the wooden floor of their tent, assuring everyone it was okay, lights came back up, he discovered he was alone. 00:12:42.3 - 00:14:22.7
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PlayIn the winter of 1950-1, getting into trouble with the Army after refusing to fight in light of a news story involving racism in his home state; placed in mental ward in Pusan; volunteering for service duty but assigned to ordnance unit on a 45,000-ton ammo dump in front of their artillery placements; drinking heavily, sent back to US, put in a padded cell, dried out; stayed sober for about 5 months; went out one night with buddies and nursed one drink and found a way to control his drinking. 00:15:41.2 - 00:20:01.9
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PlayOn search and destroy, every step could be your last; stealth was most important; in the Navy, as one of the few black men in charge of a unit he was given a lot of white misfits from the South who came to admire him; believes that racism is learned, that his good example was changing the minds of people who had never had a positive encounter with a black man; understanding that no one is superior to anyone else and that we all depend on each other. 00:21:54.9 - 00:24:53.9
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PlayMother once sent him a lightly packed jar of moonshine in Vietnam, and it did not break in the mail. 00:26:24.5 - 00:27:33.8
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PlayFood in Korea: so much good food was being diverted to the black market that they ate nothing but creamed chipped beef on toast (aka SOS) for two months; once ate dog "cheerfully;" clothing in Korea was a problem; he wore three uniforms to keep warm; British truck catching on fire, blowing up ammo dump; got a winter uniform from quartermaster in January but his hands and feet were already suffering from frostbite. 00:29:37.2 - 00:33:05.4
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PlayKnew the individual talents of the men in his squad so when he needed a specific job done, he could call on the right man. 00:36:19.5 - 00:36:44.7
About this Item
Title
- Eugene Hill, Jr. Collection
Names
- Hill Jr., Eugene
- AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps)
- Crisp, Billie R.
- AmeriCorps NCCC
Home State
- Washington (D.C.)
Headings
- - Hill Jr., Eugene
- - Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army.
- - Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Navy.
Form
- CD
Extent
- 1 item
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Race
- Black or African American
Status
- veteran
Service History
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Korean War, 1950-1953
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: 619th Ordnance Ammunition Company, 1st Army
- Location of Service:
- Highest Rank: E-6
- Dates of Service: 1948-1969
- Entrance into Service: Enlisted
- Military Status: veteran
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Vietnam War, 1961-1975
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Unit of Service: Construction Battalion (NCB Seabee)
- Location of Service:
- Entrance into Service: Enlisted
- Military Status: veteran
Materials
- Audio: CD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2006-03-07; 1994-12-31)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/44094
Cite as
- Eugene Hill, Jr. Collection (AFC/2001/001/44094), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- audio
Additional Metadata Formats
Part of
Wars & Conflicts
Service Branch
Location of Service
- Antarctica
- Davisville, Rhode Island
- Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
- Japan
- Korea
- New Zealand
- Port Hueneme, California
- Vietnam