Hilldring was born in
New Rochelle, New York on March 27, 1895. He was of
Swedish descent, and was educated at
Columbia University before transferring to the
University of Connecticut, graduating in 1918. He served in the
United States Army during
World War I, with the rank of
first lieutenant, into the
infantry. In 1936, he was appointed to the
General Staff of the United States Army. With the rank of
major general, he became the
Commanding General (CG) of the
84th Infantry Division later in 1942. Hilldring retired from the Army in 1946. On April 12, 1946, the
President of the United States,
Harry S. Truman, nominated Hilldring to be
Assistant Secretary of State for Occupied Areas. He was sworn in on April 17, 1946, and held office until August 31, 1947. In 1950, Hilldring became foreign-operations manager of
General Aniline & Film, a
Swiss chemical firm that was seized by the U.S. during World War II on suspicion of
Nazi domination. He was promoted to executive vice president in 1954, and became the company's president in 1955. ==Decorations==