VeterAn of Vietnam War hillman dies at age 74
Barely out of high school and with a need for adventure and a yearning to serve, Windsor’s Wayne Hillman found both after crossing the border, signing up with the U.S. military’s 101st Airborne and being shipped to Southeast Asia as the Vietnam War was rapidly ramping up.
He would pay for it the rest of his life, suffering for decades from post-traumatic stress disorder before it was formally diagnosed. And he would battle various cancers, including skin, liver, kidney and lung, over his last 13 years, the result, his family said, of being exposed in Vietnam to the toxic chemical defoliant Agent Orange. Hillman died Tuesday, just weeks shy of his 75th birthday. According to those who knew Hillman, talking about his own PTSD helped other veterans open up about their own battles with the emotional and psychological after-effects of traumatic experiences while serving. For decades, Hillman worked tirelessly to make sure local veterans got the public recognition and the government services he felt they had earned through sacrifice.
“When he got involved, things just got better,” said friend Michael Beale, a civilian who worked closely with Hillman on veterans’ issues.
Thousands surrounded the Windsor Cenotaph during the recent Remembrance Day ceremonies, but Beale recalls that, barely over a decade earlier, that annual gathering had dwindled to maybe 40 people. No marching bands, no soldiers in formation, just a lonely Second World War veteran in his 80s with a microphone.
Part of a small group of comrades who felt they needed to help out, Hillman got Beale involved, and they injected some innovative touches to boost the profile of the local Remembrance Day ceremony.
Schools were invited to bus students in, bands were invited, a choir became part of the ceremony, a cannon and a professional sound system were added, and there was a children’s poppy procession. The Canadian Historical Aircraft Association flew an aerial formation, and a bagpiper played from the adjacent courthouse rooftop.
“It became a lovely mass, and it brought a whole new level of public awareness,” said Beale. Hillman’s son, Scott, said he’s heard Windsor’s is one of the nation’s best Nov. 11 ceremonies.
Hillman helped energize the Windsor Veterans Memorial Services Committee, which made sure local veterans had a proper military sendoff at their funerals. During a service, uniformed members of the committee would form up in the hallway and then come forward, salute the coffin and place poppies.
“It’s a lovely tribute, very special and very moving,” said Beale. It will be a tribute repeated for Hillman on Thursday during a memorial service at 7:30 p.m. at Windsor Chapel (Banwell Chapel), 11677 Tecumseh Rd. E. Visitation will be that day from 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. Cremation to follow. Scott Hillman said his mother was pregnant with him when his father — “a tough kid from Riverside” — enlisted in the U.S. military in 1964. Windsor’s economy was in one of its slowdown periods, and he needed an income.
Later, he joined Chrysler and became a supervisor at the Windsor Assembly Plant.
“He had great people skills,” said Scott. “He was good buddies with everybody — he will be missed,” said Beale.
Helping ensure that veterans were not missed or overlooked, Hillman belonged to a number of veterans’ support groups, one of which would visit the area’s cemeteries in the lead-up to Remembrance Day, making sure crosses and Canadian flags adorned the graves of soldiers.
Over Hillman’s last days, members of the Windsor Veterans Memorial Services Committee held a round-the-clock vigil at his bedside at Windsor Regional Hospital’s Met campus. Hillman, described in his obituary as “a dedicated soldier and a man of service,” was predeceased by his wife, Trudy (2015), and is survived by his son and his daughter, Stacey Hillman-Brown, and four grandchildren. His first greatgrandchild is expected to be born on Thursday.