Willard was active in the Westchester Emergency Communications Association and was one of its founding members.
He participated in Army MARS and was a survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
As a Chief Radioman in World War 2 and an electronic technician after the war, he was requested to participate in the search for the submarine Thresher that sank of the Atlantic coast.
He helped design and test the Project Mercury capsule radio recovery beacon.