The Wall › Panel 11E › Michigan › Robert Laverne Hill
ROBERT LAVERNE HILL
Chief Master Sergeant · U.S. Air Force
September 25, 1931 – October 18, 1966
Service recordRobert Laverne Hill, of Detroit, Michigan, served as a Chief Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on October 18, 1966, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 11E, Line 87 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 11E · Line 87
Names are inscribed in the order of loss, starting at Panel 1E at the apex and ending at Panel 1W. At the Memorial, find the panel number at the base and count down from the top line.
Remember
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Air Force
- Rank
- Chief Master Sergeant (CMSGT)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- 37 ARS
- Born
- September 25, 1931
- Home of record
- Detroit, Michigan (Wayne County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- October 18, 1966
- Country
- North Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Aircraft Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
22 names on the Wall carry the date October 18, 1966. In October 1966, 516 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “37 ARS”, his unit in the record, lost 3 of its members that month.
He died in North Vietnam while Operation Rolling Thunder was under way. Operation Rolling Thunder (March 1965–November 1968) was the sustained U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnam, flown by Air Force fighter-bombers from Thailand and Navy aircraft from carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin against some of the densest air defenses in the world.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
Also on Panel 11E, Line 87
- WILLIAM FRANCIS HALPINCorporal · October 18, 1966
- JAMES WELDON HARGROVEChief Warrant Officer 2 · October 18, 1966
- GALE JACKSON HAYSPetty Officer Second Class · October 18, 1966
- FREDERICK HARRY LEWISSergeant First Class · October 18, 1966
Same unit, same day
- LAWRENCE CLARKChief Master Sergeant · Panel 11E, Line 86
- JOHN HENRY SOTHORON LONGCaptain · Panel 11E, Line 88
From Detroit
- SAMUEL EUGENE HURDAirman Third Class · January 3, 1964
- LEO BERT ABRAMOSKICaptain · July 28, 1964
- GEORGE PAUL ZUPANCICCorporal · June 26, 1965
- MARSHALL DANIEL HOLMANPrivate First Class · July 9, 1965
- ELIAS BELL JRCorporal · July 13, 1965
- ARTHUR F HAMMARSTROM JRLieutenant Colonel · July 24, 1965
- JAMES THOMAS CLARKPrivate · August 17, 1965
- BRUCE JAMES HENRICHPrivate First Class · August 18, 1965
- ROBERT TAGLIONESergeant · August 18, 1965
- MERRILL LAGENE LANTRYCorporal · September 2, 1965
Source. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (as of April 29, 2008), Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives (NAID 2240992). Panel and line as recorded in that file. This page presents the official record and its historical context; no biography has been written for him yet. See something wrong? Report a correction.