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| The flags posted at the First Shot Ceremony by a Navy Sea Cadets Unit from Perrysburg, Ohio represented the USA, the State of Ohio, the Civilian Marksmanship Program, the National Rifle Association and the Deputy Adjutant General, Ohio National Guard. |
Olympic silver medalist and many-time national champion Jim Hill was the guest of honor at the 2004 National Matches First Shot Ceremony on July 12 at Camp Perry, Ohio. Hill, a retired Marine, was invited by the CMP to be the First Shot Ceremony speaker and fire the ceremonial first shot that inaugurates each annual National Matches.
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| 2004 First Shot Speaker Jim Hill reminisced about his 46 years as a National Matches competitors and official. |
The First Shot Ceremony has been the official opening ceremony for the National Matches since the 1970s. A series of military and political leaders and, in recent years, champion shooters have had the honor of speaking at the ceremony and firing the matches’ first official shot. First Shot Speakers in the last few years included Ohio Adjutant General John Smith, Ohio State Senator Robert Latta, NRA President Marion Hammer, NRA Executive Director-General Operations Craig Sandler, Olympic gold medalist Nancy Johnson, world and national champion Bill Blankenship and the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army J. B. Hudson.
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| Champion Marine Corps shooter Jim Hill prepares to fire the First Shot of the 2004 National Matches. |
The 2004 First Shot Speaker is another champion marksman. Hill enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1948, won the National Service Rifle Championship at Camp Perry in 1956 and was a member of the 1956 Marine Corps Rifle Team that won the National Trophy Team Match. Hill achieved international fame when he won a silver medal in the 1960 Olympics; he missed winning a gold medal by the narrowest of margins. Hill performed the unprecedented feat of winning both a national highpower rifle championship and a national smallbore championship when he won the 1964 National Smallbore Rifle Championship. By the time he retired from the Marine Corps after 30 years of distinguished service, Hill had become one of only 33 Triple Distinguished Shooters. He won his Distinguished Rifleman Badge in 1956, his Distinguished International Shooters Badge in 1960 and his Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge in 1986.
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| CMP Armorer Todd Dissinger sang the National Anthem and America the Beautiful during the First Shot Ceremony. Dissinger also sings professionally with the Atlanta and Birmingham opera companies. |
After he retired from the Marine Corps, Hill founded Creedmoor Sports, a firm that specializes in providing shooting jackets and accessories. He made many subsequent appearances at Camp Perry and won the National Civilian Service Rifle Championship in 1983. Subsequent to his competition career, Hill continued to dedicate himself to serving his fellow shooters by being a volunteer match official at Camp Perry. Since 1995, he has been the National Highpower Championship Match Director.
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| The Director of Civilian Marksmanship, Gary Anderson, presented the M1903 rifle used to
fire the 2004 first shot to Jim Hill after the ceremonial first shot was fired. |
Hill’s first shot ceremony speech focused on his memories of positive experiences he had through the 48 years he has come to the National Matches. He asked to be able to fire the first shot with an M1903 Springfield because that was “the rifle my grandfather carried as a Marine in World War I.”
The 2004 National Matches began with the Pistol Small Arms Firing School taught by the U. S. Army Marksmanship Unit and supported by coaches from all of the military marksmanship units. NRA national pistol championship matches follow from July 14 through July 17. The CMP National Trophy Pistol Matches, including the Presidents Pistol Match, National Trophy Individual Pistol Match and National Trophy Team Match will take place on July 18. Anyone who wants to follow the results of these matches that typically feature intense rivalries between the Army and Marine Corps pistol teams should check the CMP web site at http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=288 for complete up-to-the-minute scores.
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