W1QBH 1949 Wethersfield, Connecticut
Operator: LCDR Richard James
"Dick" Hill, U.S.N.R., retired, served on the aircraft
carrier Bennington during World War II. He was licensed with the
call sign W1QBH circa 1949.
The card was in W5KNE's collection. The artwork and text
suggested there was a special meaning somewhere. The call sign
was on QRZ.com, but It no longer belonged to the original owner
-- it belonged to his son-in-law. With the help of the new W1QBH
I made contact with the person who created the QSL and I
received the following email.
Hi, my name is Sue Hill Ladd. As you know, I am the 2nd daughter
of Dick Hill. My dad was a WWII veteran who served aboard the
Bennington, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, during the war. He was
in communications, and continued to be an amateur radio operator
his entire life.
The cards I made for him demonstrate his avid love of the sea and
his enthusiasm for fishing. I included the whale for a few
reasons, one being his devotion to the Hartford Whalers Hockey
team, which left Connecticut in the early 1980's, and the
historical fact that when his ship was fighting in the war, it
actually "ran into" a whale, which damaged the bow of
the ship and put it in dry dock for repairs. Dad always wore a
Hartford Whalers baseball cap, and he and my Mom had a Cottage
(which he built himself) on the shoreline in Mystic, Ct, so the
dock meant that that was where he was much of the time.
Wow, all of that significance from a simple sketch. A work of
love for a part of the "Greatest Generation"!
__________________
Richard James Hill, 85, of Wethersfield, died Friday (May 17,
2002) in Hartford. He was born in Arlington, MA son of the late
Theresa (Gallery) and M. Eben Hill on January 18, 1917 and
resided in West Hartford and Wethersfield most of his life. He
graduated from Wm. Hall High School in 1934 and Trinity College,
Hartford with a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1934. During World
War II he saw action in the Pacific theater at Iwo Jima, Okinawa
and Kyushu aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bennington, of which
he was plank owner. He was a communications officer, retiring
from the service as a Lieutenant Commander USNR. He was a member
of the VFW Post in Rocky Hill. After employment with the Conn.
State Highway Dept., he was employed by the Associated
Construction Co. of Hartford and retired in 1981. He was a
President of the Hartford General Contractors Association and a
Life Member of the Conn. Society of Civil Engrs. He was a 55 yr.
Advanced Class Amateur Radio Operator with the call sign of
W1QBH. He was married for 60 years to the late Margaret Elizabeth
(Stevens) Hill, who died in August 2001....
QSL, Info courtesy of W5KNE