James A . Hill General James Arthur Hill ( October 23 , 1923 – October 1 , 2010 ) was a U . S . Air Force four - star general who served as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force . He was born in 1923 in Lancaster , Ohio Orphaned at sixteen , he graduated from St . Mary ' s High School in 1940 and attended Ohio State University in 1942 . He was inducted into the Army in January 1943 and through aviation cadet training received his pilot wings and commission as a second lieutenant in February 1944 . He subsequently qualified in multiengine aircraft . During World War II , Hill flew 31 European Theater combat missions in a B - 24 Liberator bomber while assigned to the 566th Bombardment Squadron , 389th Bombardment Group . After World War II he served at various bases in the United States until 1949 when he was called upon to fly C - 54 Skymaster aircraft in the Berlin Airlift . In October 1949 he was assigned to the Air Training Command at Lackland Air Force Base , Texas , where he served as a basic training squadron commander , and later as executive officer in the U . S . Air Force Preflight Training School . In April 1955 he was assigned to the Far East Air Force , initially as an operations officer with the 483d Troop Carrier Wing and in May 1956 as chief of current operations for the 315th Air Division at Tachikawa Air Base , Japan . Hill returned to the United States in June 1958 to fill a number of different positions in the Western Transport Air Force ( now Twenty - Second Air Force ) at Travis Air Force Base , California . From August 1960 to July 1961 , he attended the Air War College , Maxwell Air Force Base , Alabama , after which he was assigned to Headquarters U . S . Air Force , Washington , D . C . , as an operations staff officer in the Plans and Capabilities Branch of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations . In July 1964 he became deputy assistant director for joint matters in the Directorate of Operations . From July 1965 to August 1966 , he served as deputy commander for operations , 1502d Air Transport Wing ( redesignated the 61st Military Airlift Wing ) at Hickam Air Force Base , Hawaii . In September 1966 Hill was assigned to Headquarters Military Airlift Command at Scott Air Force Base , Illinois as the director of current operations and later as assistant deputy chief of staff for operations . In July 1968 he was reassigned to Travis Air Force Base as the commander , 60th Military Airlift Wing . In March 1970 he returned to Headquarters Military Airlift Command as deputy chief of staff for operations . Hill returned to the Pentagon in March 1971 as deputy director of programs . He became the director in December 1971 ; was assigned as assistant deputy chief of staff , programs and resources in May 1974 ; and assigned duties as deputy chief of staff , programs and resources in July 1974 . In June 1977 Hill became commander in chief , Pacific Air Forces , Hickam Air Base , Hawaii . Hill assumed duties as vice chief of staff on July 1 , 1978 and was promoted to the grade of general on July 10 , 1978 . He retired from the Air Force on February 29 , 1980 . He died on October 1 , 2010 after a long battle with myelodysplastic syndrome . He was rated a command pilot . His military decorations and awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal , the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster , the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster , the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster , the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters , and the Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters .