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Donald W. Hill

NAME
Donald Wayne Hill
NICKNAME
SERVICE NUMBER
299689
UNIT
Marine Detachment
USS Houston
HOME OF RECORD
307 Elm Avenue
Elmhurst, IL
NEXT OF KIN
Parents, Clarence & Laura Hill
DATE OF BIRTH
~ 1923
location unknown
ENTERED SERVICE
October 18, 1940
at Chicago, IL
DATE OF LOSS
April 8, 1942
REGION
Java
CAMPAIGN / AREA
Serang
CASUALTY TYPE
Died While POW
CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS
Private Donald W. Hill served as a member of the Marine detachment aboard the cruiser USS Houston (CA-30). He participated in the battles of Makassar Strait and Sunda Strait; when the Houston sank in the latter engagement, Hill managed to escape and was captured by Japanese forces.

Sailors and Marines from the Houston were held in a movie theater in Serang, Java, under deplorable conditions. Diseases began to run through their ranks, compounded by malnutrition. Private Hill contracted dysentery and lacked the physical strength and will to fight. Continually mumbling “This is not the way my mother made bread,” Hill was carried out of the theater and died in the courtyard on 8 April 1942.

Donald Hill was reportedly buried in the Serang Cemetery, but the exact location was not known. Post-war investigations failed to find his remains.

INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS
Prisoner of War Medal
LAST KNOWN RANK
Private First Class
STATUS OF REMAINS
Not recovered
MEMORIALS
Manila American Cemetery

Biography:
Contact the webmaster for more information about this Marine.


Articles & Records:

Hill’s burial was reported to authorities by one of the Houston’s officers. Philippine Archives Collection.

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