[19][20] While training for the Army Signal Corps at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, Hively married actress Dorothy Lovett on March 17, 1942, St. Patrick's Day.

[21][22][23] Hively joined the Army Signal Corps in late 1941, and remained in the service for the duration of World War II, rising to the rank of Major.

[26] While shooting one of those training films in Alaska, How to Operate in Cold Weather, Hively suffered what some accounts called "a very bad case of frostbite.

"[27][28] After his discharge, Hively returned to the film industry, this time working for Universal Pictures, mostly as a second unit director.

He worked regularly on several television series, including Death Valley Days, Lassie, and The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, as well as directing several TV movies.