Project 888

USS Indianapolis CA-35

Lost At Sea

Joe Walker HILL

Name: Joe Walker HILL Rank / Rating: STM1-Steward's Mate First Class Service #: 836 04 10 DOB: Jul 16, 1925 From: Prospect, VA Parents: Calvin Hill and Ellen Vernell Johnson Hill Went Aboard: Dec 20, 1944 Age When Ship Went Down: 20 years, 0 months, 14 days Spouse: Children: Grandchildren: Bio Submitted By: Jane Gwinn Goodall	Photo(s) Needed
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Joe Walker Hill was the son of Calvin Hill and Ellen Vernell Johnson Hill, born on 16 July 1925. His hometown was Prospect, Virginia. His father was a college educated minister and farmer. According to the 1940 U.S. Census, the Hills had five sons: Sherman (1920); Calvin Jr. (1924); Joseph (Joe); Cloyd James (1926); and Le Roy (1933), and three daughters: Martha (1916); Ruth (1917); and Julia (1928). Joe Walker Hill was the fifth eldest of their nine living children. The family owned their own home.
He listed his older sister, Ruth Curtis as his contact person. His employer, as noted on his draft registration, was the War Department, Pentagon Building, Washington, D.C. Hill came aboard USS Indianapolis (CA-35) on 20 December 1944 from the Training and Distribution Center at Camp Elliott, San Diego, California. His rate was Steward’s Mate First Class. Joe Walker Hill boarded Indy on the same day as his Steward Branch shipmates, Joseph Berry, Jr., Jimmie Lee Hollingsworth, Henry Jordan, and Cleo Randolph. He participated in battles involving the Iwo Jima Operation in which the Fifth Fleet raided against Honshu and the Nansei Shoto (15-16 February 1945), the Assault of Iwo Jima (15 February to 6 March 1945), and additional Fifth Fleet raids against Honshu and the Nansei Shoto (25 February to 1 March 1945). Hill was also on the Indianapolis when the Kamikaze plane knocked Indianapolis out of the Battle for Okinawa on 31 March 1945. Joe Walker Hill celebrated his 20th birthday on the day that Indianapolis left Mare Island for her final, fateful mission. He perished fourteen days later.

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Joe Walker HILL, STM1-Steward's Mate First Class, was one of 28 African-American men who were members of the Steward Branch, the only division on the ship in which there was not a single survivor. The restricted duties of the Steward Branch were to serve the officers of the ship, including the admiral's and captain's wardrooms, dining areas and sleeping quarters. The services were essential to the smooth and efficient running of Indianapolis. Many of Indianapolis's African-American crew members voluntarily performed duties as gunners' mates, assigned to a specific battle station as one complete unit. More details about the valuable service of these men can be found by reading the book: 'Heroes in the Shadows: The Untold Story of the African American Sailors Aboard USS Indianapolis (CA-35)', by Jane Gwinn Goodall, with contributions from Janice Alston and Arlene Taylor (Henry Jackson, StM1), Jeanette Pitts, M.D. (Albert Rice, StM1), and Jacqueline Dugan and Ernestine Peete (Magellan Williams, StM1).