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Willard was credited with serving more consecutive days under constant enemy fire than any chaplain in the history of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.
Willard landed with the Marines during the World War II battle at Guadalcanal, and of the eight chaplains who served the Marines there, he was the only survivor. In 1944, he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Navy's highest honor, for his service with the 2nd Marine division during the 1943 battle at Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands.
After seeking special permission to go ashore with his men, Willard, despite heavy enemy fire, evacuated the wounded and gave spiritual comfort to the dying. He paced the beach in full view, chanting "I'm Chaplain Willard and you can't shoot me!"
Willard, known for holding baptisms and conducting religious classes aboard ship, also received two Presidential citations for meritorious service under fire. In a letter to his family published on Oct. 18, 1942, in the Boston Globe, he wrote about helping doctors at a clinic in the Solomon Islands: "At night I held the dim blue flashlight for them at the operating table, where they removed shrapnel and bullets... I am glad the good Lord could use me in this service, also that He placed me here to preach the gospel, to give out pocket testaments to each man and tell them individually the story of Christ." At Tarawa, those pocket testaments possibly saved lives, they were said to deflect bullets from the bodies of four men who carried them.
During his long career in the ministry, Willard was pastor of Forestdale Baptist Church in Sandwich, Mass.; Federated Church in Kingston, Mass.; Third Baptist Church in Barnstable, Mass.; and First Presbyterian Church in Waltham, Mass. He founded and directed Camp Good News, which still aims to win young people to Christ. The former moderator of the Boston Presbytery, he was also the author of several books, including The Leathernecks Come Through*, which was quoted in Random House's A History of the Marine Corps in World War II. He served for twenty years as a chaplain in the U.S. Naval Reserve, retiring with the rank of commander. He was also assistant to the President of Wheaton College for a few years.
Description Operation Flintlock was the campaign against the Japanese in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific theatre of World War II, from 31 January to 4 February 1944. The operation involved the invasions of Kwajalein, Eniwetok, and Majuro atolls. Admiral Nimitz, Commander of the U. S. Pacific Fleet, chose two islands in Kwajalein Atoll, Roi-Namur Island and Kwajalein Island, as primary targets in the U. S. invasion of the Marshall Islands. Kwajalein Atoll contained communication and weather observation units and two Japanese airstrips on Roi-Namur and Kwajalein Islands, a seaplane base situated at Ebeye Island, a submarine base at Roi-Namur Island, and other Japanese installations scattered on various islands throughout Kwajalein atoll. Kwajalein atoll, particularly Roi-Namur and Kwajalein Islands, were subjected to heavy bombardment. This attack also sank a large number of Japanese ships in Kwajalein Lagoon. Bitter fighting between Japanese forces and the U. S. 4th Marine Division on Roi-Namur, and the U. S. 7th Infantry Division on Kwajalein, resulted in a U. S. victory on 4 February 1944. The attack of the Japanese in the Marshall Islands was the first US attack, and capture, of Japanese territory, since the land was held by Japan before the start of World War II. The capture of Kwajalein Atoll during Operation Flintlock provided American forces with a base of operations that assured the recapture of the Philippines and eventually the fall of Japan.
