1890 Willis was born on March 10th, 1890 in minneapolis, MN. His parents were Dr. Willis Henry Havilland and Grace hynes.
1907 Willis enlisted in the United States Navy from 19071911. When war broke out in Europe, he joined the American Field Service (American ambulance group).
1916 Willis received a pilot’s license on September 7th. In the same year he joined the American Escadrille (Soon renamed the Lafayette Escardrille).
1918 Lieutenant Haviland was reassigned to command the Naval Air Station near the village of Porto Corsini in Italy and train pilots there. “So successfully did the station carry out its mission that Admiral H. T. Mayo, USN, sated on the basis of his inspection 10 November 1918, that the station had ‘The Distinction of being the most heavily engaged unit of the U.S. Naval Forces in Europe