Kenneth D. Hilliard was born in 1948 In Fort Worth, Haltom City to Jessie Temple Jackson and Yule Bradley Hilliard. His father was killed in a gas leak explosion when Ken was four years old. In 1969 Ken was drafted into the army and was sent to Fort Bliss, El Paso for basic training and then to Fort Ord, California for Advanced Individual Training. He met his wife Pat through a mutual friend and they dated, became engaged before he went to basic training and married in 1969 before he went to Vietnam. In Vietnam Ken was stationed at LZ West and served in the 4th BN, 31st Reg.,196 Light Inf BDE, 23rd Inf DIV (Americal), 1^st Platoon. After being there for about six months he was wounded during an attack and subsequently assigned to the Command Post. When Ken returned from Vietnam, he was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia for about eight months working with Colonel Kennedy, doing clerical work and research for various projects. After he mustered out, he began rebuilding cars and moved to Crowley, Texas in 1984. Ken and Pat have two children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.