Thomas Heinrich Edward Hill,orT. H. E. Hill(born 1948), is a pseudonymous American novelist who writes mostly in the genre ofspy fiction.[1][2]His first novel was published when he was 60 years old, after a career that was spent in military intelligence.
T. H. E. Hill | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1948 (age 75–76) |
| Pen name | Thomas Heinrich Edward Hill, a.k.a. T. H. E. Hill |
| Occupation | Intelligence officer,author |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Indiana University,DLIWC,USARI |
| Period | Cold War |
| Genre | Spy fiction |
| Notable works | Voices Under Berlin The Day Before the Berlin Wall |
| Notable awards | Hollywood Book Festival 2008Voices Under Berlin |
| Website | |
| www | |
Military career
editHill has three degrees from the West Coast branch of theDefense Language Institute.He is also an alumnus of TheU.S. Army Russian Institute.
He served atUnited States Army Security AgencyField Station Berlinin the mid-1970s.[3]His pen name is a reference to the Field Station Berlin operations site, which was referred to as "The Hill" by those who worked there.[4]( "The Hill" was in fact a common appellation forSIGINTsites at other locations.)[5]
Hill retired in 1993, following 26 years of combined uniformed and civilian service, 16 of it overseas.[6]
Writing career
editHill's first novel wasVoices Under Berlin: The Tale of a Monterey Mary,published in 2008. It is a fictionalized story of the Berlin Spy Tunnel (Operation Gold,covername:PBJOINTLY). This was aCOMINT,as opposed to aHUMINToperation, which makes the novel different from most spy fiction.Voices Under Berlinwas an award winner at theHollywood Book Festivalin 2008. Since then it has garnered an additional five awards. Most recently, it was included in theIndie 500 Booklistfor 2011.
Hill's second novel,The Day Before the Berlin Wall,is analternate historyof the lead-up to the construction of theBerlin Wall,based on a legend that was still being told in the mid-1970s, by U.S. Army soldiers stationed inBerlin.According to the legend, the U.S. had advance intelligence of the plans to build the wall. This information included the fact that the East-German engineer troops who were going to build it had been told to halt construction if the Americans were to take aggressive action to stop them. This novel has so far won two awards, the most recent being theStars & FlagsBook Award for Historical Fiction.[7]
Hill was awarded the TANS “Recommended Reading” award for published authors in the 2012 Old Spooks and Spies Short-Story Contest for his story "Lieutenant Bar".[8]
Hill's third novel,Reunification: A Monterey Mary Returns to Berlin,was published in 2013, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first permanent buildings onTeufelsberg,the operational home of Field Station Berlin. The novel is set in Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The main characters are an American who used to be stationed in Berlin and his old "long-haired dictionary,” who is not thrilled to see him again. The novel is a juxtaposition of Berlin in the 1970s with Berlin in the 2010s, spiced up with stories of American intelligence escapades. The novel explores the difficulties of post-reunification reconciliation, both within Germany and between Germany and the United States.[9]
Graphic design
editIn addition to being an author, T. H. E. Hill is agraphic artist.He specializes in military themes. Hill has designed four sheets of commemorativeCinderella stamps:
- Americans in Berlinfor theTwentieth Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall,[10]
- Fiftieth Anniversary of theU-2 Incident,in whichFrancis Gary Powerswas shot down over the Soviet Union.[11]
- Fiftieth Anniversary of the Construction of the Berlin Wall[12]
- Fiftieth Anniversary (1963-2013) of the construction of the permanent buildings for Field Station Berlin atop Teufelsberg, the operational home of Field Station Berlin.[13]
Hill's stamps are a part of the collections of TheAllied Museumin Berlin, TheWende Museumin California, and theArtistampMuseum in Florida.
Hill is also the creator of "The Great Army SIGINT Seal".[14]
References
edit- ^"Voices Under Berlin: The Tale of a Monterey Mary - SpioneWiki".Spione.adept-press.com. 2010-05-16.Retrieved2011-04-03.
- ^"Wes Britton's SpyWise".Spywise.net. 2005-03-15. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-12-23.Retrieved2011-04-03.
- ^"About the Author".Voices Under Berlin. 2010-11-09.Retrieved2011-04-03.
- ^"sites".Fsbvg2.homestead.com. 2001-03-07.Retrieved2011-04-03.
- ^"Don Lehmann USAFSS intelligence analyst COMINT SIGINT all-source at NSA, Korea, Taiwan, Germany".Vivausafss.org.Retrieved2011-04-03.
- ^"Wes Britton's SpyWise".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-03.Retrieved2016-01-23.,last retrieved on 2 April 2011
- ^MWSA DISPATCHES—November/December, 2011, p. 37
- ^"Tans Contest Winners".Southeast Asia US Army Security Agency Veterans Association.Retrieved2012-06-26.
- ^"Conclusion of Interview with T.H.E. Hill".bellaonline.com.Retrieved2011-04-09.
- ^"Americans in Berlin: A Cinderella Stamp Commemorative Issue - Blogcritics Culture".Blogcritics.org.Retrieved2011-04-03.
- ^Cold War Times,February 2011 issue, p. 33.
- ^Novacheck, Lou (2011-08-04)."Cinderella Stamps Commemorate Fiftieth Anniversary of the Berlin Wall".Seattle Post-Intelligencer.Retrieved2011-08-05.
- ^"Fiftieth Anniversary of the First Permanent SIGINT Presence on Teufelsberg, the operational home of Field Station Berlin: A Cinderella-Stamp Commemorative Issue".VoicesUnderBerlin.Retrieved5 October2013.
- ^http://voicesunderberlin.com/greatseal.html,last retrieved on 2 April 2011
External links
edit- A synopsis ofThe Day Before the Berlin Wall
- Images of theAmericans in BerlinCinderella stamps
- Images of theFrancis Gary Powers U-2 PilotCinderella stamps
- Images of theFiftieth Anniversary of the Construction of the Berlin WallCinderella stamps
- Images of theFiftieth Anniversary of the First Permanent Buildings on TeufelsbergCinderella stamps