Pershing John Hill was born on November 11, 1918, in Nanticoke, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Frank Hill and Margaret Reese Hill. He graduated from Nanticoke High School and registered for the draft on October 16, 1940. At the time, he worked for the Liberty Throwing Company in Nanticoke before later taking a position at the Glenn L. Martin aircraft plant in Baltimore, Maryland. On March 23, 1942, Hill enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps at Baltimore. He was commissioned as an officer on June 19, 1943, at Santa Ana, California, and was sent overseas several months later. He served in the 718th Bomber Squadron, 449th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Bombardier of B-24 #41-29217 during World War II.

On January 30, 1944, B-24 Liberator 41-29217 departed its base at Grottaglie, Italy, on a bombing mission against the German-held airfield at Udine in northern Italy. After completing the bombing run, the formation came under heavy attack from German fighters and anti-aircraft fire. The B-24 was severely damaged during the engagement and was observed losing altitude with its right wing burning as enemy fighters continued their attacks. Unable to remain with the formation, the crippled bomber descended toward the northern Adriatic coast and eventually crashed on Morgo Island in the Grado Lagoon, near Grado, Italy. Of the ten airmen aboard, nine were killed, while Staff Sergeant Harvey Gann was the sole survivor and was taken prisoner by German forces.

2Lt Hill was killed in action, and his remains were initially listed as missing. For more than eight decades following the loss of his aircraft, his fate remained unresolved. On June 10, 2026, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency officially accounted for 2Lt Hill. His name is permanently inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, while his final resting place remains unknown.

Sources of information: www.findagrave.com, www.dpaa.mil, 449th Bombardment Group Historical Association, weremember.abmc.gov