Dauntless - Hardcover-Signed Copy

Dauntless: Paul Hilliard in WWII and a Transformed America

by Rob Citino with Ken Stickney and Lori Oshsner
Hardcover
200 Pages
December 2023

Dauntless is the story of Clayton Paul Hilliard, a poor farm boy from Wisconsin who enlisted in the US Marine Corps as a teenager, served in the Pacific theater as an aviator, and returned to attend university on the GI Bill. His education was a springboard into a very successful career as an entrepreneur, independent oil man, and industry leader. Always looking for ways to give back, he also became a philanthropist and generous donor to educational and cultural institutions in the city of Lafayette and throughout southern Louisiana.

Paul’s story highlights some of the most fascinating decades in American history: the impact of World War II, the importance of post-war social and economic changes, and the development of the oil industry from the 1950s to today. In short, Dauntless is as much a history of the United States in the twentieth century as it is a personal biography of an influential leader in Louisiana and beyond.

About the Author

Robert M. Citino is is one of America's most distinguished military historians. His award-winning books include Blitzkrieg to Desert Storm, The German Way of War, and a trilogy on the German army in World War II. He holds the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize from the Society for Military History, a lifetime achievement award and the highest recognition bestowed by the society. 

Museum visitors at the National WWII Museum had the Special Oppurtunity to hear from WWII Veteran and Museum trustee Paul Hilliard as he discussed his story documented in in biography, Dauntless. Watch the converstation here.