James Hill noticed his son Jacob’s warm heart at a young age. At Jacob’s 9th or 10th birthday, his son was playing “soldiers” in the backyard when his younger sister, Breanna, asked to join in.

“He came in and kind of told us ‘Breanna wants to play and we’re gonna let her, but don’t worry, I’m gonna take care of her,’” James Hill said. “That was just how he was all the time.”

In early October, Jacob Hill, a 30-year-old Army staff sergeant, was one of nearly 200 Alabama National Guard soldiers sent to Washington, D.C., as part of a mobilization called up by President Donald Trump over the summer.

On Nov. 13, Hill died after suffering a medical emergency at the Virginia hotel his unit was staying at. National Guard task force officials in charge of the D.C. mission told Task & Purpose Mon

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