R.I.P. Spc. Kevin O. Hill

Name: Army Spc. Kevin O. Hill

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Age: 23

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From: Brooklyn, N.Y.

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Assigned to the 576th Mobility Augmentation Company, Fort Carson, Colo.

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Incident: Army Spc. Kevin O. Hill died Oct. 4 at Contingency Outpost Dehanna, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit using small arms and indirect fires.

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Died: October 04, 2009

(The following was taken from www.newsday.com)A 23-year-old Army soldier from Brooklyn died earlier this week in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense said Wednesday.

Spc. Kevin O. Hill, of East New York, died Sunday at Contingency Outpost Dehanna when enemy forces attacked his unit using small arms and indirect fires, the Department of Defense said in a news release. He was assigned to the 576th Mobility Augmentation Company, Fort Carson, Colo.

Hill enlisted in the Army last year to follow in his father's footsteps, his sister, Chinyere Hill, said Wednesday. Their father, Oslen Hill, 52, served in Operation Desert Storm during the 1991 Persian Gulf conflict, she said.

Kevin Hill was born in Fayetteville, N.C., and spent his early childhood at Fort Bragg, his sister said, until the family moved to Bushwick when he was 5.

He graduated from John Dewey High School and received a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Monroe College, his sister said.

Last Friday, he called home and spoke to their mother, Mahalia Hill. "He said he was doing OK," recalled Chinyere Hill, 26, adding that he also expressed worry over friends who had died in the war.

"My mom said, 'Be focused and try not to think about it too much,' " his sister said.

Hill was quiet, enjoyed playing video games and visiting museums, his favorite being the Brooklyn Museum, his sister said.

"He was really determined and goal-focused," she said, adding that he had aspirations of moving up in the military.

Hill had been in Afghanistan only a few months, his sister said. Because he was a prison guard, his family hoped that would mean he would be safer, she said: "He told us he was going to be OK because he wouldn't be out in the field."

His tour was set to end in February, his sister said, and he had been home for two weeks in August.

"We're still in disbelief," his sister said. "We're hoping it's a mistake. We don't even know the details of what happened. It's surreal."

He is also survived by another sister, Shantel Hill, 17. Funeral arrangements are pending, his family said.