Most Veterans of Foreign Wars posts are named in honor of service members who lost their lives in overseas conflicts. In 1946, the King City post received such a name: Sgt. Frank W. Lillard, a local soldier who was killed in World War II.
To understand who Sgt. Frank Lillard was, imagine stepping back into 1937.
Around the world, Hitler rejected the Versailles Treaty, Italy completed its conquest of Ethiopia, Japan tightened its grip on China, and the Duke of Windsor married Wallis Simpson.
In the United States, the Great Depression continued, the Hindenburg exploded at Lakehurst, countless farms were lost to foreclosure, Amelia Earhart vanished, and Joe Louis defeated James Braddock for the heavyweight title.
In King City, construction began on the new high school auditorium, costing $179,000. The city also formed its first police department, with W.F. McGuire appointed chief.
During this time, Frank Lillard was a senior at King City High School, playing center on the basketball team. His family lived at 324 North 3rd Street. His father, Frank Sr., ran a small ranch west of town in Thompson’s Gulch; his mother Edith was a homemaker, and he had a younger sister, Helen. Frank spent much of his free time hunting and fishing with his best friend, Bill Morasci.
Frank graduated on June 10, 1937, planning afterward to work on a ranch.
Through 1938 and 1939, as global tensions rose, the United States clung to neutrality. Life in King City continued normally, and Frank kept working ranch jobs.
By 1940, Europe was engulfed in war. The U.S. began preparing, passing its first peacetime draft. On October 16, 1940, Frank registered and received draft number 279; on December 16, he was assigned call‑up number 242.
He entered service in late 1940 or early 1941 for what was expected to be a one‑year term. Training was basic and equipment often improvised. His pay was $21 per month. Mid‑1941, he was sent to the South Pacific as part of America’s defensive buildup. He served in the 330th Signal Corps, Army Air Corps, stationed at Nichols Field in Manila.
At 7:48 a.m. on December 7, 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor changed everything. Ten hours later, Japanese bombers devastated Clark Field. Soon after, Nichols Field,Frank’s station, was hit with the same ferocity. Dive‑bombers strafed personnel across the rice paddies; men were hunted down as they tried to hide. Supplies dwindled, reinforcements never arrived, and the Japanese blockade tightened.
American and Philippine forces retreated to Manila, then to the Bataan Peninsula.
By early 1942, troops were starving, sick, and running out of ammunition. They fought fiercely but were overwhelmed. On April 9, 1942, Major General Edward King surrendered more than 76,000 troops.
The Bataan Death March began on April 10, a brutal 110‑mile forced march with little food or water. Thousands died. Frank escaped temporarily to Corregidor, only to face constant bombardment—shells landing every five seconds for 18 hours.
Corregidor fell on May 6, 1942. A second death march began on May 10, this one roughly 70 miles. Frank was part of it. His official date of death is May 14, 1942, four days into the march.
King City became a service hub. Mesa Del Rey flight school trained 10,000 pilots. Camp Roberts sent tens of thousands of troops overseas. Soldiers passing through town were welcomed warmly.
The Lillard family endured years of uncertainty. Letters sent to Frank after December 8, 1941 were returned unopened. A newsreel briefly showed him guarding an airplane, but no details were given.
On June 8, 1944, the War Department declared Frank legally dead, noting he had not appeared on prisoner‑of‑war lists. On June 22, his family received a letter awarding him the Purple Heart posthumously. It read:
"At the request of the President, I write to inform you the Purple Heart has been awarded posthumously to your son Sgt. Frank W. Lillard… who sacrificed his life in the defense of his country.”
Frank was last recorded as a member of the 409th Signal Company. His remains were first buried in Manila Cemetery No. 2, then returned to the United States. On November 1, 1948, he was laid to rest at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California, Section C, Grave 848.