In Memoriam
Retired Colonel Georgia D. Hill
Retired Colonel Georgia D. Hill, a long-term member of the board of directors of the WAC and Army Women’s Museum Foundations, died Nov. 10, 2008 in Manistee, Mich. She was 83. Col. Hill enlisted in the WAC on her 21st birthday in 1944. After training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa she was assigned to Fort Leavenworth, Kans. where she worked her way up from clerk to acting WAC detachment first sergeant. She returned home briefly in 1948 to check out job possibilities, but decided to reenlist.
She applied for officer candidate school at Fort Lee, Va. when the school was opened, and was commissioned on graduation in 1949. After several years in WAC assignments, she received language training, first in German, then in Russian. She was selected for the Russian foreign area specialist program, which involved a year of study at Columbia University, where she received a master’s degree, followed by two years of study at the Army’s Institute of Advanced Russian Studies, Oberammergau, Germany. Subsequent intelligence assignments included the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. and Headquarters, U.S. Army, Europe during the Soviet-led Czech invasion (1968). She was one of the first women selected for colonel-level command of a mixed gender unit; she commanded Cameron Station, Va. from 1973 to 1975. Prior to this women commanded only all-woman units.
Following her retirement in 1975 she returned to Michigan where she raised and showed dogs. Col. Hill served for 27 years on the WAC and Army Women’s Museum Foundation boards, and was one of the founders of the Foundation’s oral history program. Known to her family by her middle name, Dawnell (or Dawn), she is survived by her brother Jesse Hill, her sister Marjorie Miller, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Picture: Staff Sgt. Hill (right) and Sgt. Elaine Lamb reenlisting in 1948. Capt. Moser administers the oath. (Credit: Jesse Hill)
Dr. Martha Settle Putney
Dr. Martha Settle Putney, historian, educator and author, died Dec. 11, 2008 at the age of 92. Dr. Putney was born in Norristown, Penn., one of eight children. She won a scholarship to Howard University, graduating in 1939, and received her master’s degree in history a year later. She enrolled in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in February 1943, taking her basic training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. After commissioning as a second lieutenant she remained at Fort Des Moines as a training officer. Later she commanded a detachment of African American medical technicians at Gardiner Army General Hospital in Chicago.
After the war she used the GI Bill to continue her education, receiving a doctorate in European history from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Putney was a history professor at Bowie State College, Bowie, Md. and at Howard University, Washington, D.C. where she was known as a tough and demanding instructor. In retirement Dr. Putney volunteered at the Smithsonian and worked on projects to document the experience of blacks in the military. Her 1992 book, When the Nation Was in Need: Blacks in the Women’s Army Corps, details these experiences , including a number of the problems that Army segregation policies created. She was intensely proud of her service and noted: “I couldn’t have made a better choice…I think I provided a valuable service and in return I received valuable benefits.”
Dr. Putney was featured in Tom Brokaw’s book, The Greatest Generation. When she was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Feb. 10th, Mr. Brokaw gave the eulogy. That evening he gave her a special tribute on the NBC Nightly News. Retired Gen. Colin Powell also attended the funeral. She is survived by her son, William Putney, Jr.
Picture: Third Officer Putney as a WAAC in 1943 (Credit: DOD)
