ARLINGTON, Va. - Thomas Anthony "Tommy" Hill, the National Guard's longest-serving civilian employee, is a lasting memory to contemporaries and to those he mentored.
Now they want to ensure that his legacy lasts for a long time, too, and that Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen who never met Hill know what he did for the National Guard.
On April 26, National Guard leaders past and present and Hill's widow, Olga, and other family members unveiled his portrait at the Army National Guard Readiness Center here. They planted a dogwood tree on the Arlington Hall grounds that Hill tended. They admired the headquarters he helped to procure. They traded anecdotes.
"We are honoring an old friend and a legacy," said Karen Holly, who raised a symbolic glass to honor her friend.
"My father always viewed the National Guard as his family," said Paul Hill. "It wasn't just the Guard, it was the men and women of the Guard, and he treated you the same way he treated us. He wanted all of you to be the best and do the best that you could do. He was very proud of you as he was proud of us."
Every serving member of the National Guard age 61 or younger was born after Hill had already joined the Guard as a civilian in 1946, the beginning of 60-years of service ended only by his death on Feb. 12, 2006. He was 86.
"You have to have a reason to get up in the morning," Hill told retired Lt. Gen. Roger Schultz, the director of the Army National Guard from 1998 to 2005. "The Guard is my reason; I love it that much."
A National Guard emblem adorns Hill's tombstone.
"In most of our lives, certain people come along that have a great impact on us," retired Lt. Gen. John Conaway, the chief of the National Guard Bureau from 1990-93, told the audience that included other former Guard chiefs, directors and senior leaders. "Tommy had a great impact."
Conaway said he was told to meet with two people who would enrich his knowledge of the National Guard when he came to the National Capital Region in 1977. Hill was one of them.
"I sat down with Tommy Hill to learn what was going on in the Guard Bureau," Conaway recalled. "Tommy was a mentor to many of us."
Retired Lt. Gen. Herbert Temple the other person Conaway was told to meet with for Guard expertise was chief of the National Guard Bureau from 1986-90.
"He was a good friend and a friend of the United States. He was a true patriot," Temple recalled.
"But Tommy's legacy is really not for the old timers," Temple said. "It's for all of those who didn't know him. Those who haven't known him need to know about Tommy as a person. Yes, he knew all of us, he knew the people at the top, and we made a point to know him. But never once did he ask for anything for himself. I never heard him say anything derogatory about anyone. Everything was in favor of the people who were there and around him. He was a man of dignity and integrity. Though we would often talk about those we had served with in the past, he never missed the opportunity to tell me about the young people who were here, and he always referred to them as €˜marvelous' and €˜wonderful' and €˜so capable.' "
Supported by members of her family, Olga Hill walked the tree-lined path to Eagle Plaza, outside Arlington Hall on George Mason Drive. Even the trees she walked under were part of her husband's legacy.
One of Arlington Hall's first occupants, Hill advocated attractive grounds, and he maintained a garden plot there with some of his colleagues. Conaway was among those who received tomatoes from the plot.
Hill didn't get a 21-gun salute, but he was honored by 21 stars. Lt. Gen. Clyde Vaughn, director of the Army National Guard, joined seven former chiefs of the National Guard Bureau or directors of the Army or Air National Guard. Those eight general officers wore a total of 21 stars.
Once a regular visitor to Hill's office, Temple said he had not been to the readiness center since his friend's death.
"I keep thinking what am I going in there for?" Temple said. "When I would come here, it was always to Tommy's office to sit and talk and to reflect."
Now Hill's portrait an oil painting by Lynne Freeman of California that was commissioned by the Guard leaders who worked with Hill and are affectionately known as the "Old Timers" hangs in that readiness center.
"When I come back in the future, I want to have the opportunity to go and stand in front of that portrait and talk to Tommy in my way," Temple said.
Temple and Hill's other friends hope the portrait inspires those who didn't know him to learn what kind of man he was. "Tell people about what Tommy was," Temple said. "Not just his longevity, but the kind of person he was and how a person of his caliber has contributed so much to our institution."
They said he was this kind of person: An infantryman who rose to master sergeant then warrant officer. A civil servant. Self-made. An optimist. Cheery. Healthy. A people person. Going the extra mile for others. Generous. Deeply committed to family and faith.
They say this is what he gave the National Guard: Vision. Strategic thinking. Living history. A 60-year thread of continuity. Encouragement. Wisdom. Training. Humor and humility. A role model. Selflessness. Leadership. Commitment, innovation and courage. A heart and soul.
And he gave the Guard his adult life.
Vaughn called him Mr. National Guard. "He was our Soldier, our Mentor, our Flag Bearer, our Custodian, our Family, our Friend," the director wrote. "His life was dynamic, his legacy is unique ... our gentle warrior."
In addition to his widow and son, Hill's other surviving immediate family members and friends attended the April 26 events. They included Catherine Hill, daughter; Steve Hill, son, and his wife, Beth, and their sons, Danny and Bob; and Ms. Bono Mitchell, a neighbor and lifelong gardening friend.
Among those also present: Carol Vaughn, the Army Guard director's wife; Brig. Gen. James Nuttall, deputy director of the Army National Guard, and his wife, Alice; Army National Guard Command Chief Warrant Officer Sal Green and Command Sgt. Maj. John Gipe; retired Lt. Gen. Russell Davis and retired Maj. Gen. John D'Araujo, both former chiefs of the National Guard Bureau; retired Maj. Gen. William Navas, former director of the Army National Guard, and retired Maj. Gen. Don Sheppard, former director of the Air National Guard.