The Hill family in 1943; photo courtesy of Dr. George Hill

The family of former Perry residents will be presented with a unique honor later this month for service in the United States Civil Air Patrol in World War II.

First Sergeant Gerald L. Hill and Master Sergeant Essie Mae Thompson-Hill were both members of the Civil Air Patrol, and lived in Perry during the late 1940’s. About a year ago, their son Dr. George Hill, who now lives in Maryland, was doing some research into his parent’s war time correspondence, and in the process he dug up some interesting facts on the couple. In particular, he found the Hills were eligible to posthumously receive a Congressional Gold Medal for their service.

“I discovered that Barack Obama had signed as President, a couple of years before the end of his term, that the Congressional Gold Medal (be) awarded to the entire Civil Air Patrol for service during the Second World War. So I received an affirmative response from the Historian of the Civil Air Patrol saying, ‘Yes, my parents were eligible,’ and they would work on (the) presentation of the medal to us; a replica of the original ones being in the Smithsonian. This is amazing to me, to our family, and we really appreciate the fact that this has all come together just at the right time.”

The medal presentation ceremony will be held on February 23rd at 12:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Baltimore, Maryland. A reception will follow at a nearby location. Hill invites anyone who knew his family during their residence in Perry to make the trek for the event, which he says will be a moving spectacle.