William Pendleton Thompson Hill (22 February 1895–6 December 1965) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

who served as Quartermaster General of the Marine Corps from 1944 to 1955.

Early life

Hill was born in Vinita,

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, and attended

Kemper Military School Kemper Military School & College was a private military school located in Boonville, Missouri. Founded in 1844, Kemper filed for bankruptcy and closed in 2002. The school's motto was "Nunquam Non Paratus" (Never Not Prepared). The 46-acre cam ...

. He later graduated from

Western Military Academy Western Military Academy was a private military preparatory school located in Alton, Illinois, United States. It operated from 1879 to 1971. The campus is part of the National Register of Historic Places District (ID.78001167). The school motto wa ...

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend area in the Metro-East region of the ...

. After his graduation from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

, he entered active duty as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps on 12 July 1917.

Military career

After attending flight school at the Naval Coastal Air Station in Cape May, New Jersey, Hill served as one of the Marine Corps' first

aviators An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they ar ...

. In 1918, he served as a pilot with the 1st Marine Aeronautic Company, flying

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

patrols in the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. In 1920, he was assigned as a member of the Naval Alaskan Coal Commission, where he served as a

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

during the survey of Alaskan coal fields. As a captain, he commanded a company assigned to the

American Legation The Tangier American Legation ( ar, المفوضية الأميركية في طنجة; french: Légation américaine de Tanger), officially the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIMS), is a building in the ''medina'' of ...

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China. While there, he participated in Doctor

Roy Chapman Andrews Roy Chapman Andrews (January 26, 1884 – March 11, 1960) was an American explorer, adventurer and naturalist who became the director of the American Museum of Natural History. He led a series of expeditions through the politically disturbed C ...

' third expedition to the

Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert (Chinese: 戈壁 (沙漠), Mongolian: Говь (ᠭᠣᠪᠢ)) () is a large desert or brushland region in East Asia, and is the sixth largest desert in the world. Geography The Gobi measures from southwest to northeast an ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

, as the expedition

topographer Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scie ...

. In 1933, he was posted overseas to

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, where he served as the quartermaster and paymaster director for the Garde d'Haiti. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was initially assigned as the liaison officer during the construction of

Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( Wilmingt ...

, and briefly served as camp commander during 1941. For his performance at Camp Lejeune, he was awarded the

Navy Distinguished Service Medal The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritoriou ...

. In 1943, he was reassigned to

Marine Corps headquarters Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) is a headquarters staff within the Department of the Navy which includes the offices of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps and various staff functions. The function, ...

for duty in the Quartermaster Department, becoming quartermaster general on 1 February 1944, a position he held until his retirement in 1955.

Victor Krulak Victor Harold Krulak (January 7, 1913 – December 29, 2008) was a decorated United States Marine Corps officer who saw action in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Krulak, considered a visionary by fellow Marines, was the author of ''First to Figh ...

, in ''First to Fight'', described Hill as the "classic representative of the Quartermaster's tradition of fierce frugality....''thrift'' was his watchword...

Decorations

Major General Hill's ribbon bar:

W.P.T. Hill Award

The W.P.T. Hill Award was established in 1985 to improve food service operation and recognize the best messes in the Marine Corps. Competitors are judged on areas such as operations, sanitation, taste and quality of food.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, William P. T. 1895 births 1965 deaths People from Vinita, Oklahoma University of Oklahoma alumni United States Marine Corps generals United States Marine Corps Quartermaster Officers United States Marine Corps World War II generals United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Military personnel from Oklahoma Kemper Military School alumni