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Sacred Falls
hero to be honored
by Navy, Marines

Band pianist Cpl. Jason Hill
gave medical assistance to nine
victims of the Mother's Day
1999 rock slide

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

First-aid training as a Boy Scout and being a Marine prepared Cpl. Jason Hill to handle the unexpected medical emergency on Mother's Day last year at Sacred Falls.

But what Hill had trouble coping with was the nightmares caused by the major rock slide at the Windward Oahu hiking spot, where eight people died and 32 were injured.

Today, Hill, a pianist with the Marine Forces Pacific Band, was to receive the Navy-Marine Corps Medal from Maj. Gen. Robert Magnus, Marine Forces Pacific deputy commander, for assisting nine victims on May 9.

The blue, gold and red ribbon is the highest award for heroism a service member can receive in peacetime.

"I don't think anything impacted on me like this," said Hill, who is leaving the Marine Corps on March 15 after 2 years for the University of Oklahoma, where he will attend classes and serve as staff accompanist for the musical theater department.

"I had nightmares for months," the 22-year-old Marine said.

Although the military required him to meet with mental health specialists, Hill said the best advice he got from them was to seek out people with whom he could relate what he was experiencing. Hill credited his roommates for helping him through the difficult months.

By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
Jason Hill receives congratulations from a member of his
church after getting his medal this morning.

Hill and a friend, Jay Long, had nearly made it to the falls in the Kaluanui Gulch shortly after noon on May 9. It was their first visit to the popular freshwater swimming hole.

"I think we were nearly 40 feet from the falls," he added. "We still couldn't see it when there was a loud noise and people started running towards us. ... They told us to leave because there were people who were hurt."

Rocks and boulders were cascading down the waterfall chute and the narrow gorge from as high as 330 feet. People had little time to react.

"It never occurred to me go any other direction than toward the falls. Hey, I'm 22, and I guess I was thinking I am invincible."

When Hill and his companion reached the rock slide, the sight was overwhelming.

"The very first person I saw was a man who had all of his 10 fingers broken."

During the next five hours, Hill said he had to administer first aid to a woman who had lost her leg.

"Another little girl had lost a part of her leg ... but the majority of my time was spent helping a man whose skull had been crushed."

Hill has been credited by doctors as saving the man's life, although he has never been told who the victim was.

"I felt very qualified because of my past first-aid training to deal with the situation," said Hill. "I knew what to do. I knew how to handle injuries with exposed bones. ...

"However, later, after I was being congratulated by officers and even generals for being a hero, I became depressed because of what had happened to the others."

Today, Sacred Falls State Park remains closed, and the U.S. Geological Survey believes it should never be reopened because it is a high hazard area for rock falls.

Hill still keeps in contact with the sister of one of the victims, and he still has his music.

For the next three weeks before he leaves the Marine Corps and islands, Hill is part of the orchestra providing support for the play "Big River" at Fort Shafter's Army Community Theatre.