Robert Kenneth "Bobby" Willis, Jr. joined the Navy in August of 1939 after graduating from Natchitoches High School. He served for 16-months on the USS Arizona which arrived at Pearl Harbor on Saturday, December 6, 1941 and was sunk the next day by the Japanese. He enlisted in the Navy in Rapides Parish, Louisiana and was the first casualty of that Parish in World War II. The American Legion Post in Pineville, Louisiana was named the Robert K. Willis Jr. Post in honor of his service and duty to his country. He is entombed in the USS Arizona at the bottom of Pearl Harbor.