David Hill, Family Member

You know, I don’t remember not knowing David Hill and his family. His mom was one of, if not the best friend my mom had. David’s parents lived across the street from us when I was very small. David’s parents were June and Wilbur Hill. I actually don’t remember them living there. But the friendship that developed between June and my mom lasted for a lifetime. I consider the Hill family to be a part of my family.

Both June and Wilbur are now deceased, but I have great memories of both of them. June was an Avon Manager and Wilbur worked for the Texas Department of Transportation. Wilbur hunted on the deer lease with my dad. My brother and I also hunted there. Spent many hours with Wilbur. Wilbur loved to hunt and I think he loved hunting the turkeys as much as he loved hunting the deer. Mom and dad loved to go country dancing with June and Wilbur. June was a red head and everything that you expect from redheads was true about June. David was a redhead before he started turning Santa Clause white. See the picture above. He makes a great Santa.

June and Wilbur had 3 children, David, Cindy and Julie. David and Cindy are a little older than me. Julie was in my high school class. Cindy passed away a couple of years ago.

David is the one that I have been the closest to. When I was a teenager, David is the only guy that I actually remember that went to Viet Nam. It scared the hell out of me.
The only thing that I remember about his Viet Nam tour was that he was a radio man. That was one of the most dangerous jobs. I know he had many close calls. He has suffered most of the rest of his life with complications due to exposure to Agent Orange.
But David never complains, he is always the one laughing and keeping everyone else up.
My mom sent letters and packages every week to David when he was in Viet Nam. She sent all kinds of things to help him remember home. I can’t remember a week going by without mom sending something to him. It was her contribution, but more importantly, she loved David. You see, he was part of the family.

Another thing that I remember about David is that he took off and became a Mountain Man for several years. He lived up the the mountains out west and survived on his on. Tough guy.

I just want to thank David for being in our lives. When dad was in the hospital before he died, David was there to be with us. I can’t tell him how much that meant to me.

You know, I email with David all the time, mostly jokes and things. But I want to take this opportunity to thank David for all that he and his family has meant to my family.

David, we love you.

I want to close with a tribute to you and your buddies that served in Viet Nam. God Bless You. Listen to the song: Knocking on Heaven's Door, and please watch the video. This type of war footage was what we saw on the evening news every night back in the late 60's. I remember it well.




Coming Tomorrow, April 9th, Mom and Dad's Anniversary