Donald E. Hillman

Donald Edison Hillman (August 24, 1918 – March 16, 2012) was an American World War II flying ace and prisoner of war credited with five enemy aircraft destroyed. He was also the first American pilot, in 1952, to make a deep-penetration overflight of Soviet territory for the purpose of aerial reconnaissance.

Early life Hillman was born in Seattle, Washington on August 24, 1918. He graduated from Broadway High School, and attended the University of Washington for a short time before transferring to Virginia Military Academy. He then transferred to Stanford University, where he graduated with a business degree in 1939.

Hillman retired from the Air Force in 1962, taking up an Air Force liaison position with Boeing in Seattle. He died on March 16, 2012, aged 93.