Photo by Shelley Hanson World War II veteran Wayne Hill poses inside the Community Coffee & Tea shop in Bellaire on Friday. Friends of Hill and owners of the shop, Alyson and Chad Farmer, threw a surprise Christmas party for Hill.

BELLAIRE — When World War II veteran Wayne Hill joined the Navy as a teenager, he missed three Christmases at home during his two and half years of service.

On Friday, friends of Hill and owners of the Community Coffee & Tea shop in Bellaire Alyson and Chad Farmer decided to help make up for those lost Christmases with a gathering — not only celebrating the holiday but his service to the country.

The event was a surprise to Hill, who is 98 years old and lives across the street from the shop he enjoys frequenting.

Hill was given his favorite style of Navy hat, known as Donald Duck cap, and an old Navy top. One cake was inscribed with the name of the ship he worked on — the USS Belleau Wood. A second cake had a large anchor on it.

“I’m surprised by the whole darn thing,” he noted.

Hill, a native of Wheeling, said when the war broke out he felt compelled to join the military.

“They call it patriotism today,” he said.

However, Hill was only 16 years old at the time.

“I tried to join the Army, but I was too young. I tried the Air Corps, but I was too young. I went to the Navy and the man said, ‘Let me think about this,’ and he bypassed me through by adding a year to my age,” he said.

Hill said he worked in aviation ordnance where he loaded bombs onto planes. That part of the job was scary, he said, because it was live ordnance and could explode during handling, but he mostly worked on repairing .50-caliber machine guns.

His ship was in the Pacific Theater, but Hill said he was never in a direct battle himself.

Those who served during WWII are called the Greatest Generation, but Hill said he never considered himself a hero for his service.

“In my heart, I was doing what I had to do. I never had any hero thoughts,” he said.

Hill said he had a brother, Robert Hill, who served in the Army in New Guinea during WWII. He also had a sister, Roberta May, who lived in Akron.

After coming home from the war, Hill got a job working in the Reichart Furniture warehouse in Wheeling. He repaired furniture there for more than 30 years before retiring.

Hill said growing up in Wheeling as a child was “a wild time,” noting there was a lot gambling happening in the city. He also remembers the big 1936 Ohio River flood. At the time, he was living on Wheeling Island. He remembers his building being surrounded by water.

“I lived at 428 South Broadway Street. My mom and I were home. We heard a knock on the side of the house and we looked down the steps and there was a man with a row boat who saved us,” he said.

Hill said he did not know how to swim — a skill he never did learn even during his time in the Navy.

“I never passed the swim test,” he added.

Chad Farmer said he has enjoyed getting to know Hill during the past three years. He enjoys talking with him and hearing his stories.

“It’s a blessed relationship. We banter with each other. I’m a Marine and he’s an old sailor. We help each other out,” said Farmer, who served in the Iraq war during the mid-1990s. “I love talking with him, just about life.”