``This is a small town. It hits us hard. God bless him, he's just trying to make a living for his family,'' said longtime resident Marion Gilbertson.
Hamill fought hard to keep the dairy business that had been in his family for three decades, working long, exhausting hours to pay off loans to the Merchants & Farmers Bank, friends said.
But he needed to find a way to raise his two young children and pay for heart surgery needed by his wife, Kellie.
He sold his cows and milking equipment, and last September the 43-year-old volunteer firefighter signed on to drive a fuel truck for a year in Iraq for up to $120,000, tax free.
Last Friday, he was captured by gunmen who attacked a convoy. They threatened to kill Hamill unless U.S. troops stopped attacking the city of Fallujah by a Sunday morning deadline. The deadline passed and there has been no word on his fate.
Relatives told reporters that Halliburton Co. _ parent of Hamill's employer, government contractor Kellogg, Brown & Root _ asked his wife and son, who is about 13, and his daughter, who is about 11, not to talk to the press to avoid inflaming the kidnappers.
But on Tuesday, Kellie Hamill read a statement intended for her husband and his captors.
``I would first like to say to my husband, Tommy: we love and miss you very much.''
To those holding him captive, she said, ``Our hopes are that you will release him unharmed and as soon as possible.''
She also offered thanks for the support and prayers for Hamill and his family coming in from around the country.
The rolling hills of Noxubee County are covered with rich, black soil, but its residents struggle with poverty. The median household income is only $22,000 and unemployment is around 11 percent.
County agronomy agent Dennis Reginelli said that since 1991 the number of dairy farms in Noxubee has dropped from more than 20 to just nine.
``We're always battling against farm prices, against the weather,'' Reginelli said.
Hamill's father and uncle started the farm, dubbed the Grade A Dairy, on about 100 acres of rolling, green grass in an area of pine forests.
But with mounting family debts, Hamill sold the herd of fewer than 30 cows, said Noxubee County Supervisor Eddie Coleman.
``Then he drove a milk truck part-time until he went over to Iraq,'' Coleman said.
Kellogg, Brown & Root offered $80,000 to drive a fuel truck, with the possibility of making up to $120,000 with overtime. American civilians can earn that much tax-free working in Iraq.
A few days before his kidnapping, his hometown weekly paper interviewed Kellie Hamill about the perils of his job.
``An artillery round has landed within feet of him and he's constantly getting bricks thrown through his truck windows,'' Kellie Hamill, a 911 emergency dispatcher, told The Macon Beacon.
He returned home for a brief visit a few weeks ago when she had her heart surgery.
Asked how Halliburton trains men like Hamill for the hazards of Iraq, Halliburton spokeswoman Wendy Hall said would say little other than: ``Every potential employee receives very specific warnings about the dangers of working in a war zone.''
