World War II Honoree

Bryson R. Hills

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Santa Clara, California

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Staff Sergeant. Inducted into the United States Army October 6, 1941 at Moffett Field, California. Upon his graduation from recruit training, he was designated to attend the Flight Aviation Training Program. He served as a B-17 ‘Flying-Fortress’ Bomber Flight Engineer/Top Turret Gunner, assigned to the 814th Bomber Squadron, 482nd Bomber ‘Pathfinders’ Group, First Bomber Division, an element of the U.S. 8th Air Force ‘Mighty Eighth’ Army Air Forces. His unit was based at the Alconbury Royal Air Force Station Location: Huntingdon, England. Tuesday, September 14, 1943 he died in a non-battle training accident, when the pilot and crew departed Alconbury with four passengers on a flight to Turnhouse, Scotland. Due to cloud cover and poor visibility conditions, the Pilot was instrument flying, when the Bomber crashed into Skiddaw Mountain, near Keswick, United Kingdom. Personnel from a Graves Registration Company buried him in the Brookwood American Cemetery Brookwood, England. In the post-war era, this Airman’s family requested that he be buried with Military Honors at Cambridge American Cemetery Location: Cambridge, England. This American Patriot was awarded the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters posthumously, for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.