Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Eric Hill

Gerard Eric Hill was born in Boston, Massachusetts on April 8th, 1969 to Jerry and Maxine Hill.

Eric, as he was fondly known as, attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help Elementary School, Holy Cross Middle School and graduated from Cathedral High School. He went onto obtain his Bachelor’s degree from Mass College of Liberal Arts, Masters from Northeastern University and a law degree from Suffolk University. After graduating from Suffolk University, Gerard was employed by the City of Boston and held several prominent positions, which led him to his employment at Ernest and Young and also the Department of Defense. This journey was vast prior to accepting a position at the Pentagon. Eric was on his second assignment before passing. He was deployed to Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq twice, as NATO Support Liaison, Director of Acquisition and Legal, and lastly, Director of Human Resources. When Mayor Walsh established the African American Veterans Appreciation Brunch, Eric was the designated EmCee of the event every year, since its inception.

Lieutenant Colonel Hill passed away on September 14th, 2019 at the age of 50, due to natural causes.

Eric leaves to cherish in his memory his beloved Parents, two Brothers: Carl and Rashad; three Sisters: Carla, Lisa, and Ayanna.

His beloved children: Eric (Marquise), Amanda, Darius, Jazmine and Kaleb and also his Grandchildren: Ariana, Isaiah, Jaysen, and Cayleb, along with his Life-Long Companion, Ms. Frances Thomas .

Lieutenant Hill has numerous relatives, whom all loved and admired him dearly; including his Uncle, Leslie Miller; his Aunts: Barbara Jean Miller,

Lisa (Joseph) Fields, Darline (Robert) Harris and Brenda Miller, all of Poughkeepsie N.Y. His Nephews: Michel Thompson, & Christopher Blake; Nieces: Kiana, Sade and Kai Hill.

~ Military Description ~

Lieutenant Colonel Gerard “Eric” Hill was commissioned through the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School as an Ordnance Officer on 26 May 1999, after more than 8 years of enlisted service.

As a Lieutenant in the Massachusetts Army National Guard, he served as a platoon leader in the 721st Maintenance Company, at Camp Edwards for four years.  At the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Eric’s unit, the 110th Maintenance Company, was deployed to Talil, Iraq in 2003, where he served as the Base Maintenance platoon leader.  Eric was the Company Executive Officer for the 721st Maintenance Company before transitioning to the U.S. Army Reserves, where he soon took command of the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment of the 719th Transportation Battalion.  Eric’s company then deployed to Balad, Iraq under the 316th Expeditionary Sustainment Command.

In 2011, Eric was selected to serve as a contracting officer, and was assigned to the 656th Contingency Contracting Team, 917th Contracting Support Battalion, stationed in Los Alamitos, TX.  During this assignment, he deployed to Afghanistan in 2013.  He then served as an Operational Contracting Support Officer for the 4th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, forward stationed in Arifjan, Kuwait in 2015.  Following this assignment, he transitioned to Headquarters, Department of the Army, where he was assigned in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4 in 2016.  After serving two and a half years in the ODCS, G-4 as a Logistics Support Officer, Eric transitioned to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8 in 2019, where he worked as a Synchronization Staff Officer for the procurement of the Army’s medium tactical vehicles.

Eric was posthumously promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and received the Meritorious Service Medal.  His other awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Achievement Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with M device, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the NATO Medal, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, and the Department of the Army Staff Badge.

Eric was a graduate of Suffolk University Law School where he earned a JD in Law in 2005, Northeastern University where he earned an MPA in Public Administration in 2007, and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts where he earned a BA in History in 1992.  Eric was also a graduate of the Army’s Command and General Staff College, the Joint Operations Planning and Execution Course, the Captain’s Career Course and the Ordnance Officer Basic Course.