Montgomery County resident Frank Willard celebrated his 104th birthday June 11, with a dinner and cake with his close family, according to his son, Jim Willard, 67, of Clarksville.
“He is excited to be turning 104,” Jim Willard said. “He’s been looking forward to this since last year’s 103rd birthday.”
Last year’s birthday was during the COVID-19 pandemic, so a caravan of friends and family helped him to celebrate with a drive-by parade instead of the typical party with a homemade cake.
This year, there was a mixture of drive-by celebrators, but the family dinner was a special gathering, according to Jim Willard, who said his father enjoyed it.
“In December, my dad said, ‘If I live six more months, I’ll be 104,’” Jim Willard said. “Then, a couple more months went by, and he said, ‘If I live four more months…,’ and then last month he said, ‘If I live one more month, I’ll be 104.’”
On June 11, 104 years since June 11, 1917, Clarksville’s oldest-known living World War II veteran celebrated another historic and appreciated birthday.
Jim Willard and his wife, Melony, were there. Frank Willard’s daughter, Linda Ammerman, and her husband, Don Ammerman, traveled from Florida for the family celebration.
Earlier in the day, Frank Willard received greetings from the community, which included a fire truck drive-by from Clarksville Fire Rescue, a gathering of several friends and a special visit from Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts and his wife, Cynthia.
Frank Willard’s history
In 1942, Frank Willard married Katherine Gower. The couple had 77 years of marriage together before his wife died May 18, 2020. She was 100.
During World War II, Willard served in Patton’s Third Army in heavy artillery from shortly after D-Day until the war’s end in Czechoslovakia on May 8, 1945, according to the Kiwanis Club’s Faces of Valor documents.
He fought in five major battles, awarded five battle stars and was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery.
After the war, Willard taught military science and history at Eastern Kentucky College.
He retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel, earned his degree in dentistry at the University of Tennessee at Memphis and selected Clarksville to open his dental practice.
Frank Willard became active in the community and put in nearly 70 years of service with the Kiwanis Club.
He’s also been active in the local chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons, where he served as an officer and a member of the board of directors.
He enjoyed farming since his retirement from dentistry and trained and exhibited Tennessee walking horses.
At 104, Frank Willard eats well, sleeps well, and with a smile will tell anyone there is nothing wrong with him except that he’s getting old, Jim Willard said.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.