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Ellsworth DeWitt Hill in uniform

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Civil Affairs Division; Headquarters Advance Section CZ G4
  • Location of Service: England; Normandy, France; Love Field, Dallas, Texas
  • Highest Rank: Major
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/9087

View full service history

"The magnitude of it is beyond comprehension." (Letter to Florence, Barbara, and Nancy, 6/14/1944)

The success of the Normandy invasion depended on the efforts of soldiers, sailors, Coast Guardsmen-and engineers. As a petroleum engineer, Major Ellsworth Dewitt Hill (known to his family as Dewey) tackled the problem of supplying an overseas invasion of historic size with the necessary amount of gasoline. Arriving in Normandy with the first wave of the advance section, Hill's letters and military papers convey the effect of D-Day on all who took part, no matter what their role. In a letter to his family dated June 16th, 1944, "What can be said now can hardly do justice to what happened."

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[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

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[ Officer's pay data card [1942] ]
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[ Letter of commission [12/4/1942] ]
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[ Travel orders [3/31/1943] ]
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[ Orders from the Office of the Commanding General ]
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[ Memo on reorganization and reassignment [4/13/1943] ]
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[ Letter to Admiral Calvin Durgin [6/21/1943] ]

Show more resources (62)

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[ Transcript of a telephone conversation [7/17/1943] ]
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[ Transcript of telephone conversation [7/28/1943] ]
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[ Transcript of telephone conversation [6/23/1943] ]
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[ Memo from A. F. Carter to Admiral Durgin [7/24/1943] ]
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[ Letter of Appreciation [7/26/1943] ]
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[ Memo to Colonel I. K. Evans ]
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[ Memo from Captain D. F. Gilbert [7/29/1943] ]
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[ Undated memo from Colonel I. K. Evans ]
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[ Memo from 1st Lt. Walter Swaybill [8/30/1943] ]
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[ Memo from Colonel H. C. De la Bere [9/14/1943] ]
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[ Memo from Major General James A. Ulio, Adjutant General [10/29/1943] ]
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[ Memo from Lt. Col. H. W. McCobb [10/29/1943] ]
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[ Announcement of temporary promotion [11/30/1943] ]
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[ Announcement of temporary promotion [11/30/1943] ]
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[ Request for a leave of four days [12/20/1943] ]
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[ List of names of officers requesting leave of absence [12/23/1943] ]
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[ Information for officers newly arrived in London ]
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[ Movement Orders [1/21/1944] ]
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[ Memo regarding leave of absence [1/25/1944] ]
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[ Medical certification [1/31/1944] ]
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[ Shipping ticket [1/31/1944] ]
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[ Immunization waiver [1/31/1944] ]
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[ Medical certification [2/22/1944] ]
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[ Orders [3/1/1944] ]
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[ Special Orders Number 33 [3/17/1944] ]
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[ Special Orders Number 46 [4/1/1944] ]
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[ Shipping ticket [4/22/1944] ]
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[ Memo on instruction for movement [5/20/1944] ]
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[ Special Orders Number 56 [6/9/1944] ]
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[ Orders [9/22/1944] ]
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[ Orders [9/26/1944] ]
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[ Orders [10/6/1944] ]
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[ Letter certifying the issuance of supplies [11/14/1944] ]
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[ Military record and report of separation [3/11/1945] ]
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[ Essay: Military Pipeline System in France ]
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[ Third U.S. Army pamphlet Number 608-12, Survivor Assistance for Next of Kin of Deceased Retired personnel [8/22/1968] ]
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[ Letter to his family [3/3/1944] ]
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[ Letter to his family [3/12/1944] ]
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[ Letter to Florence [4/3/1944] ]
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[ Letter to Florence [4/17/1944] ]
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[ Letter to Florence [4/23/1944] ]
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[ Letter to Barbara, Nancy, and Florence [5/1/1944] ]
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[ Letter to Florence [5/21/1944] ]
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[ Letter to Florence, Barbara, and Nancy [6/14/1944] ]
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[ Letter to Florence [7/14/1944] ]
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[ Letter to Florence [8/14/1944] ]
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[ Letter to Florence [8/24/1944] ]
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[ Letter to Florence [9/9/1944] ]
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[ Letter to Florence [10/23/1944] ]
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[ Letter to Florence [10/31/1944] ]
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[ Letter to Florence [11/7/1944] ]
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[ Letter to Florence [11/15/1944] ]
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[ Vmail from Florence [ 2/23/1944] ]
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[ Vmail from Dan A. Carroll [ 3/18/1944] ]
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[ Vmail from Wally [4/2/1944] ]
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[ Newsclipping from "The Stars and Stripes": "Army Strains to Insure Front Gets its Gasoline--On Time" ]
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[ Newsclipping: "Pipelines Push 50 Miles a Day Toward Front" ]
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[ Notes from the diary of Gerhardt Hauptmann, 19 Neustrasse, Cologne, Germany. Wehrmacht SS 2749886 ]
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[ Breakfast menu for the Transport Ship Etolin [7/20/1943] ]
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[ Paper map case labeled "Secret." Contained the schematic for a "Minor DOL System" and a hand-drawn map of the Normandy , France area ]
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[ Schematic Minor DOL System [7/8/1944] ]
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[ Hand-drawn map of Normandy ]

About this Item

Title

  • Ellsworth DeWitt Hill Collection

Names

  • Hill, Ellsworth DeWitt

Headings

  • -  Hill, Ellsworth DeWitt
  • -  World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1914-1918

    • Location of Service: Love Field, Dallas, Texas
    • Military Status: veteran

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Civil Affairs Division; Headquarters Advance Section CZ G4
    • Location of Service: England; Normandy, France
    • Highest Rank: Major
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1945
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran was involved in designing a military pipeline system in France.

Materials

  • Photograph: Digital print [1 item] -- Photograph (collected unknown)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of photograph (collected 2009-03-22)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [19 items] -- (collected 1944)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- (collected 1944)
  • Manuscript: Maps [3 items] -- (collected 1941-1944)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [ item] -- (collected 1942-1945)
  • Manuscript: Other Manuscript Material [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1964)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [2 items] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/9087

Cite as

  • Ellsworth DeWitt Hill Collection (AFC/2001/001/9087), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Hill, Ellsworth Dewitt. Ellsworth DeWitt Hill Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09087/.

APA citation style:

Hill, E. D. (1942) Ellsworth DeWitt Hill Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09087/.

MLA citation style:

Hill, Ellsworth Dewitt. Ellsworth DeWitt Hill Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09087/>.