Wonderful Salty WWI 1917 BB&B Made USN Pilot Wing of USMC Lt. & Eventual Major General WPT William Pendleton Thompson "Pete" Hill, Naval Aviator #853

ARTIFACT:

What we have here is just an incredibly historic United States Marine Corps Pilot Wing. This is a Wonderful, Salty, WWI, circa 1917, Bailey, Banks, & Biddle BB&B Made US Navy Pilot Wing of USMC Lt. & Eventual Major General WPT William Pendleton Thompson "Pete" Hill, Naval Aviator #853.

Not only was Pete Hill one of the 10 Flying Officers of the Marine Corps very first unit to see Overseas Combat Aviation service, the 1st Marine Aeronautic Company, which flew Anti-Submarine Patrol from the Azores in Portugal, but he later went on to be a China Marine as well, and served in Haiti with the Garde d'Haiti. He served pretty much everywhere a Marine could serve in the years prior to WWII.

William Pendleton Thompson Hill (February 22, 1895 – December 6, 1965) was a United States Marine Corps Major General who served as Quartermaster General of the Marine Corps from 1944 to 1955.

Early life

Hill was born in Vinita, Oklahoma, and attended Kemper Military School. He later graduated from Western Military Academy in Alton, Illinois. After his graduation from the University of Oklahoma, 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. In 1918, he served as a pilot with the 1st Marine Aeronautic Company, flying seaplane patrols in the Azores.

In 1920, Hill was assigned as a member of the Naval Alaskan Coal Commission, where he served as a geologist during the survey of Alaskan coal fields. As a captain, he commanded a company assigned to the American Legation in Peking, China. While there, he participated in Doctor Roy Chapman Andrews' third expedition to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, as the expedition topographer.

In 1933, Hill was posted overseas to Haiti, where he served as the quartermaster and paymaster director for the Garde d'Haiti.

During World War II, Hill was initially assigned as the liaison officer during the construction of Camp Lejeune, and briefly served as camp commander during 1941.

In 1943, Hill was reassigned to Marine Corps headquarters for duty in the Quartermaster Department, becoming quartermaster general on 1 February 1944, a position he held until his retirement in 1955. Victor Krulak, in First to Fight, described Hill as the "classic representative of the Quartermaster's tradition of fierce frugality....thrift was his watchword...

Hill was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal his "exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service in positions of great responsibility to the Government of the United States" from 8 September 1939 to 1947, including for his role in the design of the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina: "He was entirely and almost solely responsible for the detailed layout of the establishment."

Hill died on December 6, 1965, in Bethesda Naval Hospital at the age of 70. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery

VINTAGE:

World War I, 1917.

SIZE:

Approximately: 7/8 in height x 2-3/4” in width.

CONSTRUCTION / MATERIALS: Gilt Brass

ATTACHMENT: Horizontal pin with tiffany type catch.

MARKINGS: BRAONZE / B.B & B / WPT HILL

ITEM NOTES:

This is from a US Air Force collection which we will be listing more of over the next coming months. P06/26 VFJJK25 LEEIEX06/03/26

CONDITION:

8 (Excellent-): The wing shows minor to moderate wear, overall, it is in excellent condition.

GUARANTEE:

As with all my artifacts, this piece is guaranteed to be original, as described.