Jack W. Hill

Jack Warner Hill (1928–1987) was a member of the United States Marine Corps who bears the distinction of holding Marine Corps enlisted service number one million (1,000,000). Hill served a total of two enlistments in the Marine Corps, one during World War II, resulting in a discharge due to lying about this age upon enlistment (similar to Calvin Graham), and the other briefly before the outbreak of the Korean War. After his military service, Hill lived a normal and uneventful life; he was killed in an automobile accident in 1987.

Hill was issued his number upon induction into the Marine Corps on July 8, 1944, at the height of World War II and during a time period when the United States Marine Corps was heavily engaged in several bloody battles in the Pacific Ocean. The issuance of the one millionth Marine Corps service number was a sensation in the media and was reported by several major newspapers, including The New York Times.

Hill's induction into the Marines later became something of a scandal as it was revealed that the induction board which had drafted him had done so without a check into his background, based on verbal statements only from Hill and his parents. It was then discovered that Hill had made false statements to the induction board and was only sixteen at the time he was drafted. The Marine Corps quietly discharged him in December 1944 after only five months of service.

Hill reenlisted on October 17, 1946, now truly at eighteen years of age, and served three and a half years of duty before being discharged a second time in June 1950. During his second enlistment, he held his previous service number of one million, although the post-World War II media took little interest.

Hill's final rank was that of Corporal and his only military decorations were the National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) and the World War II Victory Medal. Both of these medals were never presented to Hill during his service, but were considered "automatic" due to the time periods in which he served - the World War II Victory Medal for service between 1941 and 1946 and the NDSM for service after June 27, 1950 during the era of the Korean War. Hill in fact only qualified for the National Defense Service Medal by three days of service as he was discharged on June 30, 1950.

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