John Jesse Hill (died 2009)

1928 LHS freshman class	1929 LHS sophomore class	1930 LHS junior class

Enlists As Army Chaplain

The first local boy to be accepted into the chaplaincy is John Jesse Hill, son of James Hill, north of Lowell. On Oct. 5th John left for Ft. Deven, Mass., where he will enter chaplains' school. He has received his commission as a First Lieutenant.

John is a graduate of Lowell high school and Johnson Bible School, Kimberlin Heights, Tenn. Following his graduation, he accepted a call as pastor of the Church of Christ at Aylmer, Ontario. Two years later he began making preparations to go to Korea as a missionary. On May 23, 1939, just a month after his marriage to Miss Esther Beavans of Warren, Indiana, they departed for Seoul, Korea. In the early winter of 1940 they were forced to return home due to war conditions.

Since returning to the States, John has held a pastorate at Sturgis, Mich., and just previous to his enlistment in the army, served the church at Paden City, West Virginia.

Mrs. Hill and children, Bruce, Virginia and Susan, will make their home with her parents, the Lawrence Beavans, in Warren, Ind.

Lt. John J. Hill, army chaplain, and son, Bruce, were here for a week end visit with his father, James Hill and sister, Miss Anna Jane. Lt. Hill was on furlough from his duties at Camp Claiborne, La.

James Hill received word from his son, Chaplain John Hill, that he is now overseas. John has been serving as Chaplain with the army the past year.

Chaplain John J. Hill writes his father, James Hill, and sister, Anna Jane, that he has been transferred from Hiro, Japan to Matsue, on the island of Honshu. He hopes to start home sometime in January or February, though plans are very indefinite.

LT. JOHN J. HILL WITH U.S. 8th ARMY IN JAPAN

First Lieutenant John J. Hill is now serving as a Chaplain with the 24th Infantry Division at Okayama, Honshu.

The 33-year-old chaplain served as a missionary at Seoul, Korea, from 1939 to 1940. He was preaching in Paden City, West Virginia at the time he entered the Army, September 20, 1944.

Overseas 13 months, Lieutenant Hill served as a chaplain throughout Luzon, Leyte and Mindinao campaigns of the 41st Division, and joined the 24th on Shikoku January 1, 1946.

His wife, Mrs. Esther E. Hill, resides in Warren, Indiana. His father, James H.Hill, lives in Lowell.