Gilleland, Willis (Bill) R.
Growing up in the family of an Air Force pilot (Bill’s dad was a B-17 pilot in the 8th Air Force, 447th Bomb Group, 708th Bomb Squadron in England during World War II.), it was natural for Bill to pursue being an Air Force pilot. Bill began his path in Air Force
ROTC at Montana State University. He participated in a preliminary flight training program through ROTC from which he received a private pilot’s license.
While attending MSU, Bill met his wife, Dianne, and they were married in October of 1964. After graduating from MSU in December 1966, Bill was assigned to class 68-E at Vance AFB.
Following completion of the Air Force flight training program, Bill completed advanced training in the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft at Sewart AFB, Tennessee. Bill’s next assignment was with the 463rd Tactical Airlift Wing, 772d Tactical Airlift Squadron based at Clark Air Base, Philippines. More than 90% of the unit’s mission was to provide airlift support in Viet Nam. The unofficial unit motto was “You Call, We Haul; Anything, Anywhere, Anytime.” One of Bill’s memorable missions was to deliver a 26,000 pound road grader to an Army engineer at a 2,600 foot long, 60 foot wide dirt airstrip. When asked what they were going to do with the grader, the Army engineer
replied, “Lengthen and widen this runway for you guys.” After Bill secured housing, he was joined at Clark AB by Dianne and their infant son, Todd, who was born while Bill was in-country. During their stay in the Philippines, Bill and Dianne adopted an infant daughter, Kim.
During his 2-year tour in Southeast Asia, Bill accumulated approximately 1,000 hours of combat flying time, not once returning from a mission with a bullet hole or other damage to the aircraft. Bill was awarded 5 Air Medals during the tour and was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for successfully completing a high-priority delivery of essential supplies to Djamap, Viet Nam, which had been under a mortar attack only moments before. Upon returning to the Continental US, Bill’s next assignment was to the 313th Tactical
Airlift Wing, 38th Tactical Airlift Squadron at Forbes AFB, Kansas.
Bill separated from active reserve duty in February 1972 and took a position in the Data Processing Department of CONOCO in Ponca City, Oklahoma. While there, Bill and Dianne adopted their third child, David. In 1976, Bill and Dianne received their opportunity to return to their home state of Montana, where Bill took a position in data
processing/information technology with the Montana Department of Revenue. Bill completed work for a Master’s Degree in Public Administration in 1981 from Montana State University. Bill retired from the Department of Revenue at the end of 2008 with nearly 33 years of service. Bill & Dianne’s older son, Todd, and his family, live in New Jersey where Todd is a Senior Scientist for a small firm doing defense related research and projects. Their daughter, Kim, moved to Bozeman, MT, in 2022 to begin a new career as a Clinical Chaplain and Bereavement Coordinator. Their younger son, David, lives in Helena, MT, and is self-employed in the construction trades. In late December of 2020, Dianne took up her wings as an angel and flew up to Heaven after her body’s nearly year-long battle with cancer. After Dianne’s departure, Bill dove deeper into his HO scale model railroad hobby and is preparing to regain his wings for pleasure flying.