"They probably could have won the war without us," Gene quips of his duty in audio-visual training aids. Nevertheless, he served for nearly two years in the Pacific. Born at home in Marshall, Texas, Gene moved with his family to Waskom, Texas, where he finished high school. He graduated from Centenary College in 1943 with a bachelor of arts in accounting. Gene entered the U.S. Navy in September of 1943, and after training shipped out to Australia. There he worked in the audio-visual training aides library of the Seventh Fleet. He volunteered to help open an office in Melaney Bay on New Guinea, where he met his wife, Martha Dolan, an Army nurse. They married in Hollandia. Gene ran the training films library and a projection studio, where newly arrived servicemen were shown films of aircraft recognition. The couple returned to America in September of 1945. He was discharged in Mobile with the rank of lieutenant (j.g.). Using the GI Bill (with which he received $165 a month) he earned his masters degree from The University of Texas at Austin, passed his Certified Public Accountant exam, and returned to Shreveport. He worked in accounting before forming his own company, Hilliard Petroleum, which he and his son own.