The Dial; Hill School, 1964 [Oliver Stone]

Pottstown, Pennsylvania: Hill School, 1964. Quarto. 276p. with supplement (16 leaves) covering Spring Semester. The Hill School has always been one of the premier private schools with a list of distinguished alumni. He was sent away to attend the school while his parents were having conflicts before their divorce. This covers the Sixth Form (equivalent to the 12th Grade in public schools) where Oliver Stone [known also as "Bill" and "Stony"] has a very active senior year. Besides the mention of all the clubs he was part of, it has those in which he was most prominent from three pictures while on the Tennis team (two of which are action shots) to the USS (Home Room) where he is holding up a Playboy Magazine in the group picture. On Junior Prize Day (p. 222-223), he won the Current Affairs and Excellence in History awards. He was a leader in the Hill Christian Association which served charities in the area and the English club where he wrote a paper they noted on Edward Albee and John Osbourne (both in which he is pictured). He also was the Treasurer for the Press Club and the Classics Club where he is also pictured. The Spring Supplement which is included here notes he won a prize for Excellence in English and was elected to the Cum Laude Society. Finally, the April-May part of the supplement, he warns [in jest] putting your arm around a girl's waste at school functions is bad form. There are at least ten pictures where he is identified. A fascinating item. After graduation he attended Yale but dropped out and as a fluent speaker of French went to Saigon in 1965 where he taught English in South Vietnam. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1967 where he served with the 2nd Platoon, B company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Infantry. He was wounded twice was awarded the Bronze Star for heroism, the Purple Heart with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster and many other awards. In 1984 he won the Academy Award as the Director of the film Platoon based on many of his experiences.