Grovetown City Council continues recent tradition of honoring Vietnam veterans

GROVETOWN, Ga. (WJBF) – Veterans Day might be over, but the community continues to honor the heroes who served our nation.

Grovetown City Council took time during their Tuesday meeting to recognize Sergeant Willie Hill Jr. for serving in the Vietnam War.

"I thought I was going to come here and be with a lot of other veterans, and come to find out they were just honoring me. So I was totally surprised," said Hill Jr.

For 6 years, he was stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville, Arkansas, where he earned the National Defense Service Medal and the Air Force Good Conduct Medal.

He remembers serving with his brother at the same time during the war.

"He was in the Army, and I was in the Air Force. He was in the first cavalry, grenade launcher—lost a buddy and a leg. He's a disabled veteran," said Hill Jr.

Those tragic stories still resonate with Hill, almost 50 years after the war.

But honoring Vietnam Vets has become a recent tradition for city Council, because they say they weren't given the thanks they deserved when the vets returned home.

"The Vietnam War was one in particular that council member Bowman wanted to proceed forward with, and that's to recognize him since they were not treated right when they came home," said Mayor Gary Jones. "It was well received and we started it, so this is probably the 6th or 7th presentation we've made."

That's why Jones says it's something the city will continue to do going forward, to make sure these heroes will not soon be forgotten.

"Once we run out of local vets from Vietnam, then we'll look at World War II survivors. We have our Veterans Park right outside the door here, we have flags flying for all branches of service, we have the memorial wall. So, we care about our veterans, and we want to recognize them," said Jones.

Hill Jr. also operated the photography lab on base, which launched a lifelong interest in photography.

After he was honorably discharged, he earned a B.A. in Photography at the Brooks Institute of Photography in California.

He owned a photography studio for 25 years in Florida, and also served for 12 years in law enforcement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Here in the CSRA, Hill Jr. is a member of The Gideons International, and Warren Baptist Church–where he also serves as a deacon.

The Vietnam vet says he's proud to call Grovetown his home.

"I love this city because the people are so friendly, everybody is very open to you, and they welcomed me with open arms," said Hill Jr. "Anything I can do to help this city, I'll be glad to do it."

To top of his resume, he's been happily married for 56 years, with three daughters, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

He might not wear his uniform every day, but the love for his country is a badge he will never stop wearing.

"I don't really wear a lot of Air Force stuff—I do have it on the back of my truck, and my daughters have given me hats and so forth. But the pride is really inside your heart for the country, so that's how I wear my service," said Hill Jr.