AU history student turns research project into essay on grandfather’s WWII experience - and publishes a final draft
Alfred University senior student R. J. Hillman was a student in History Professor Gary Ostrower’s class on the Second World War when, as the 2021 Fall semester approached its conclusion, the time came for Hillman to write his principal essay for the course. He chose a subject with which he had a personal connection.
Alfred University senior student R. J. Hillman was a student in History Professor Gary Ostrower’s class on the Second World War when, as the 2021 Fall semester approached its conclusion, the time came for Hillman to write his principal essay for the course.
He chose a subject with which he had a personal connection.
His grandfather, Robert Hillman, had served in the U.S. Navy during the war. Hillman’s ship, the U.S.S. Bismarck Sea, sank off the coast of Iwo Jima in February 1945 during the battle for the island. Hillman leaped from the sinking ship and spent hours in the frigid waters helping an injured sailor stay afloat before they eventually were rescued.
Growing up in Hornell, NY, R. J. Hillman had heard family stories of the sinking of the Bismarck Sea, although not from his grandfather. “Talking about the war just wasn’t something he was comfortable doing….He wasn’t comfortable bringing up all those bad memories.” But the elder Hillman did share some of his war stories with his wife Eleanor, R. J. Hillman’s grandmother. She in turn shared some of those stories with her grandchildren.
Hillman decided to turn the story of the Bismarck Sea’s sinking into his research paper for Ostrower’s course, and Ostrower helped point him in the right direction for references. Hillman consulted U.S. naval history archives and communicated with a Navy archivist who sent him a copy of the Bismarck Sea captain’s official debriefing. The Navy had its own log on the Bismarck Sea’s history. The result was a 10-page research paper that included specifications for the Bismarck Sea, a 30-plane, Casablanca-class escort carrier that carried 41 pilots. Thirty-nine of those pilots received the Distinguished Flying Cross medal after the war. Of the ship’s total crew, 318 lost their lives when the Bismarck Sea sank.
Hillman’s research and final draft impressed Ostrower so much, he encouraged Hillman to condense the essay to newspaper length. On Nov. 15, the Olean Times-Herald published Hillman’s article under the headline: “In Harm’s Way: the Bismarck Sea’s final Hours in WWII.”
“It was an awesome experience writing about it,” Hillman says now. “I had never really researched anything about family history or anything related to my family.”
Hillman’s grandfather died in 2018, but R. J. got to share the essay with his grandmother. “She was over the moon about it. She says she learned a lot from it that she hadn’t known.”
And Hillman is particularly grateful he was encouraged to write about the Bismarck Sea’s final battle. Ostrower had provided numerous suggestions for research paper topics, but Hillman was drawn to researching his grandfather’s personal history of World War II. “Professors at Alfred are willing to work with you on your research projects,” he says. “They’ll work with you, so you can work on something you’re excited about.”
As a history major, Hillman hopes to attend Colorado State University as a graduate student, working in the area of public history. He hopes eventually to become an environmental historian working in connection with national parks.