Born in Hopkinton, a graduate of Hopkinton High School, and the owner of the Central House Tap Room for over 30 years, Charlie Hill is another Hopkinton veteran who served on Okinawa.  For nearly three years Charlie Hill was assigned to the USS Kidd (DD-661) as an Electrician’s Mate. The complement of 329 men on the Kidd saw heavy action in World War II, participating in nearly every important naval campaign in the Pacific (“USS Kidd”). “The U.S.S. KIDD was part of Destroyer Squadron 48 of World War II, which was composed of nine Fletcher class destroyers, four of which were constructed at the Kearney Shipyard in New Jersey. The Fletchers were the backbone of the Pacific destroyer force during World War II. Small, fast, fighting ships, they were used to screen task forces, escort convoys, bombard shore positions and deliver torpedo attacks. No aircraft carrier or battleship ventured into enemy waters without her escorting destroyers ahead. On April 11, 1945, during the battle for Okinawa, the USS Kidd suffered a kamikaze attack when a Japanese pilot targeted and crashed into her, killing 38 crewmen.” (“National Parks Service”).

After the attack, one of the ships that escorted the Kidd and Charlie Hill to the island of Ulithi for repairs was the USS Black with fellow Hopkintonian Bud Friese on board.