Doyle “Bill” C. Hilson was born in Bronson, Florida in December 1927. He had five brothers and sisters. His father, an owner of five small newspapers, moved the family to Hickory, North Carolina where they remained until he died in 1939. The family then moved first to Georgia where Hilson finished high school, and then to Miami [Annotator’s Note: Miami, Florida]. He often listened to the news on the radio, but was not aware of the hostilities in Europe and Asia. The attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] was infuriating to him, but he was thankful that it brought the country together under a common cause. He did not learn about the attack until the afternoon because they were driving home from a trip to Tallahassee, Florida. He began paying greater attention to the war after his older brothers joined the Army Air Corps and Navy. Hilson was anxious to join the service like his older brothers. The local newspaper would print out battle lines, so Hilson often read the paper and listened to the radio. To help with the war effort, he bought bonds with stamps and then worked for Western Union delivering letters. His family grew a victory garden [Annotator’s Note: gardens planted at private residences and public parks during the war years] too. He often sent his brothers mail. Living in Miami, Hilson saw ships torpedoed by German U-boats [Annotator’s Note: German submarines] offshore and burning into the night. There were always rumors of German spies roaming Miami Beach. The food supplied was the biggest change in America during the war. He had to learn to live without chocolate and lots of green veggies.

Doyle “Bill” C. Hilson entered the Navy in May 1945 at the age of 17 and did basic training at Great Lakes Naval Training Station [Annotator’s Note: Great Lakes, Illinois]. He already had an expectation of military life and regimental routines. He was sent to California after basic training and then sent overseas on a troop ship. He got two meals a day while he was crossing the Atlantic. He was then assigned to the USS Kula Gulf (CVE-108) and worked as a seaman in the V2 division on the hangar deck. He would go swimming off the coast of Saipan [Annotator’s Note: Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands]. He remained on the ship after the war ended and was part of the crew tasked with welcoming returning Marines onboard as part of Operation Magic Carpet [Annotator’s Note: the post-World War 2 operation by the War Shipping Administration to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European, Pacific, and Asian theaters]. They loaded the ship with cots for the Marines to sleep on. Hilson was able to go on liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] while his ship was in China. He went under the Golden Gate Bridge [Annotator's Note: suspension bridge in San Francisco, California] several times while bringing Marines home. He often talked to the Marines and brought them anything they wanted. The ship was mothballed in Boston [Annotator’s Note: Boston, Massachusetts] in June 1946 when Hilson was discharged. He took advantage of the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment] and attended the University of Miami [Annotator’s Note: in Miami, Florida].

Doyle “Bill” C. Hilson’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was bringing troops home as part of Operation Magic Carpet [Annotator’s Note: the post-World War 2 operation by the War Shipping Administration to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European, Pacific, and Asian theaters]. He wanted to serve because America was attacked, and he wanted to do his part to support the country. Because he served in the Navy, he was able to find a good job. He is proud of his service today. He believes Americans do not know much about World War 2. Hilson believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations because people do not understand the meaning of war and how it affects the whole nation.