Paul Hillman, 103; cited by Patton Glens Falls trucking company owner helped famed World War II general win Battle of the Bulge.(Capital Region)

Byline: PAUL GRONDAHL - Staff Writer

Paul Hillman, who ran a South Glens Falls trucking company and kept the tanks of Gen. George Patton's 4th Armored Division of the 3rd Army rolling in the Battle of the Bulge, died Monday. He was 103.

Hillman, who grew up on a Washington County dairy farm and learned to fix nearly anything, was tapped by Patton when icy roads in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium sent tanks skittering and threatened to slow Patton's drive to repel the Nazi counteroffensive.

"Get me a welder and some scrap iron," Capt. Hillman told stymied Army commanders. "It'll be ugly, but you'll be able to move down the road."

Hillman's …