{"id":1569,"date":"2026-06-18T17:40:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T17:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=1569"},"modified":"2026-06-18T17:40:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T17:40:20","slug":"heroism-101-bob-hilliard-keeps-marching-into-his-second-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=1569","title":{"rendered":"Heroism 101: Bob Hilliard keeps marching into his second century"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>We have a titanic hero in Southwest Florida.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s Bob Hilliard, who turns 101 on June 25.<\/p>\n<p>Mark that Thursday as what should be a statewide holiday.<\/p>\n<p>Hilliard is consequential in a life that began in New York City. With World War II raging, he completed Army basic training near Jacksonville, Florida, fought in Europe, then landed in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Boston for careers in journalism, theater, government and academia. He came down to Florida again at Sanibel Island, and, after Hurricane Ian, Fort Myers.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=1566\">A nest of vipers: G7 Summit and the United States<\/a><\/p>\n<p>He never quits, just as he dug deep when the Nazis came on as brutally as the Battle of Bulge\u2019s deep freeze in Belgium.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat I remember most,\u201d he says, \u201cis the terrible cold winter and having to use TNT to blast foxholes \u2026 for shelter and sleep.\u00a0 And I got frozen feet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He was just 19, an Army private hit by mortar shrapnel, from which he overcame and received the Purple Heart.<\/p>\n<p>That was 1945, a few months before America and our Allies clinched victory on the Continent.<\/p>\n<p>What Hilliard experienced at the Bulge was the bloodiest battle for American forces on the Western Front during the Second World War. But he survived and has thrived the 81 years since.<\/p>\n<p>Thrived? That\u2019s putting it mildly.<\/p>\n<p>He has a sharp wife, JoAnn Reece, and two brilliant children, Mark\u00a0Hilliard,\u00a0a military historian, and Mara\u00a0Verheyden-Hilliard, one of the country&#8217;s leading civil liberties lawyers as co-founder and head of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund.<\/p>\n<p>Also in the past eight decades, he has produced 50 books and multiple stage shows. Even musicals, one of which, \u201cPiccadilly,\u201d my wife and I enjoyed at Fort Myers two years ago.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=1563\">The Brits Should Declare Their Independence, Too<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cPiccadilly,\u201d obviously set in London, sings of love after WWII.<\/p>\n<p>Can you imagine composing not only a screenplay, but also music and lyrics? I can\u2019t, but then I\u2019m not Bob, the Florida Firebrand. He burns with a fervor.<\/p>\n<p>The Guardians of Democracy, a group of citizen journalists and activists, felt Hilliard\u2019s heat from years of demonstrations and decided to honor him with its Lifetime Award.<\/p>\n<p>Bob responded with a message captured by Florida Weekly\u2019s Roger Williams: \u201cWhen one gets to an advanced age \u2026 much of one\u2019s thinking turns to remembrances of the past. One wonders whether they have fulfilled their obligation as human beings to make life better for as many others as possible. My mantra has been \u2018be ashamed to die until you\u2019ve made the world a little better than you found it.\u2019 Your generous award \u2014 the Guardian of Democracy Lifetime Award \u2014 gives me hope that I am fulfilling my mantra, my goals in life. It buoys my spirits and supports my continuing commitment to our mutual fight for democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a pleasure to know Bob Hilliard, who\u2019s walked the Earth longer than anyone I\u2019ve known.<\/p>\n<p>Think of what he\u2019s lived through: the 1927 Yankees, the Great Depression, the Berlin Airlift, Bobby Thomson\u2019s Shot Heard Round the World, the Dodgers and Giants leaving New York for California, JFK\u2019s murder, Joe Namath\u2019s Super Bowl, the moon landings, the Miracle Mets, Secretariat, the Bicentennial, the stock market\u2019s rocket since 1982,\u00a0the Berlin Wall\u2019s tumble, Buster Douglas\u2019 shocker over Mike Tyson, 9\/11, America coming up on 250.<\/p>\n<p>America250? It\u2019ll also be great to see Hilliard101.<\/p>\n<p>Happy birthday, Big Guy.<\/p>\n<p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Bucky Fox and Bob Hilliard at lunch\" class=\"wp-image-1568\" height=\"485\" src=\"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/b8fc809f6a7b1632a9de8ce1923f014f.jpg\" width=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/b8fc809f6a7b1632a9de8ce1923f014f.jpg 640w, https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/b8fc809f6a7b1632a9de8ce1923f014f-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p><em>Image: Bob Hilliard and fellow newspaper guys Jeff Cull and Bucky Fox in April in Fort Myers, Florida. Courtesy photo<\/em><\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=1560\">Wind power and the iron law of diminishing returns<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Bucky Fox is an author and editor in Florida.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We have a titanic hero in Southwest Florida. He\u2019s Bob Hilliard, who turns 101 on June 25. Mark that Thursday as what should be a statewide holiday. Hilliard is consequential in a life that began in New York City. With World War II raging, he completed Army basic training near Jacksonville, Florida, fought in Europe, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,202],"tags":[681],"class_list":["post-1569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-history","tag-related-topics-history-florida"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Heroism 101: Bob Hilliard keeps marching into his second century - Interstate Logistics Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=1569\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Heroism 101: Bob Hilliard keeps marching into his second century - Interstate Logistics Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We have a titanic hero in Southwest Florida. He\u2019s Bob Hilliard, who turns 101 on June 25. Mark that Thursday as what should be a statewide holiday. Hilliard is consequential in a life that began in New York City. 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