In 1961 Barney Hill, a U.S. postal employee from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and his European-American wife Eunice (“Betty”), a state social worker, were participants in the first and most famous case of reported abduction by aliens from outer space. Although there had been many alleged sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) prior to this date, the few previous “contacts” were deemed hoaxes or delusions. The Hills, however, were sincere and credible witnesses whose experience established the pattern for future abduction narratives.
Barney Hill was born in Newport News, Virginia, the youngest of four children of Barney, a shipyard worker, and Grace Sills Hill. The Hills were descended from Peter J. Hill, a free black of Petersburg, Virginia. In 1923 the family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where Hill graduated from South Philadelphia High School and attended Temple University before joining the U.S. army. He married Ruby Horne ...
