Calvin Eugene Hill was born November 12, 1924, the son of Matthew F. Hill and Mabel Schenck Hill. He had two older brothers, Max Jr. and Bill, one older sister, Carol, and a younger sister, Janet. They grew up in West Baraboo, Wisconsin. Cal was drafted April 16, 1943. After basic training at Camp Crowder, Missouri, he was sent to Teletype operator training at Fort Lewis, Washington. When that training was completed in November, he was sent by troop ship to Bristol, England. During the following months of training and waiting, Cal met his future wife Betty Beatrice Bennett at a church dance. Cal was sent to France on June 8, 1944. He left so suddenly that he never had a chance to say goodbye to Betty. Cal had run all the way to the Bennett home when he found out he was leaving, but Betty had gone to the movies. For the next 14 months, Cal followed the ground troops across France, Belgium and Germany, first with the 1st Army Headquarters, and then with the 17th Signal Battalion. His responsibility was to receive and send messages to the field. Cal's worst memories of the war were seeing the evidence of the Holocaust and the devastation that the war had brought to these beautiful countries. Cal was sent home on leave July 1, 1945, and arrived in New York on July 10, 1945. He was only home for a short time and was to be deployed to the Pacific after training in Texas. However, while he was at home, the war ended and his time in the service of his country was completed. Correspondence with Betty continued. Cal proposed and Betty accepted. She sailed for New York on the QE2, with return trip money from her mother if things didn't turn out. The marriage endured, and they were married over 58 years, had two children and four grandchildren.