Billie Faust Hicks was born on 28 October 1924. He was the son of William Ballard Hicks and Velma Mae Kern.
He died 3 April 1944 and is buried at Gunnings Cemetery, Indian Springs, TN.

Private
151st Field Artillery Battalion, 34th Division

The Kingsport Times, 30 April 1944
Private Billie Faust Hicks, 19, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.D. Hicks, Route 1, Kingsport, was killed in action in Italy, April 3, according to a message recently received from the War Department by his parents.
Private Hicks, who had been in service since April 8, 1943, had been overseas since October 1943. Private Hicks, who attended Blountville High School, was formerly employed by the Kingsport Press.
Surviving are his parents and four sisters, Mary Ella Hicks, Ruth Hicks, Trula Hicks, and Peggy Anne Hicks.

“I have a great uncle named BILLIE who, short of 5 days of being in the united states army for a year, was killed in action in italy, within its european theatre of world war 2, at the young age of 19 (april 3, 1944)
I pen this now as an homage to BILLIE, having been met with such an untimely yet incredibly honorable fate, in defense of his family and all peoples back home, to help carry forth a banner that hasn’t been without its own smudges and shame, but was still to stand firmly against the oppressive and oppositional powers seeking out nothing diminutively short of global and total domination for its sick and twisted version of humanity’s place in the universe.
These words shall stand as a poor rendition and facsimile of BILLIE’s actions, as a reminder that past histories do not necessarily reflect on future outcomes – sometimes those previous past patterns are fumbled into refuse and damned to reappear, and not solely at the fault of a tempest or an aggressor, but with some small and slight blame to those who are complacent with silence and not willing to rattle a noise.
PRIVATE FIRST CLASS BILLIE FAUST HICKS, of the 151st Field Artillery Battalion, 34th Infantry Division, is no longer here to offer proverbs, wisdom, or even a quip, but it is his actions, like so many other brave souls to have pledged and done the same – in their time, and those before them, those after them until now, and those still yet to come – these attributes and attestations afford us all privilege that occasionally lapses our judgement and memory but mustn’t be forgotten and foregone, for it is their corporeal costly contributions and cause that shall not be for naught
honor them not with silence – stand up and speak.” –Submitted by Brandon Buchanan.
  • Rank: Private
  • Date of birth:
    • 28 October 1924
  • Date of death: 3 April 1944
  • County: Sullivan
  • Hometown: Kingsport
  • Service Branch: Army/Army Air Forces
  • Division/Assignment: 151st Field Artillery Battalion, 34th Division
  • Theater: Europe
  • Conflict: World War II
  • Battles: Italy Campaign
  • Awards: Purple Heart
  • Burial/Memorial Location: Gunnings Cemetery, Indian Springs, TN
  • Location In Memorial: Pillar XVIII, Middle Panel
  • Sponsored by: Brandon Willjasen

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