Vanden Huyck Willard

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Vanden Huyck Willard

Vanden Huyck Willard was ahumanmale who served as asector commander andgeneral in theRebel Alliance. He served at theRebel base onYavin 4 during theBattle of Yavin. He waskilled when his cruiserYavin's Hope was attacked by theExecutor near theMako-Ta Space Docks.

Biography[]

On Yavin 4[]

Vanden Huyck Willard was asector commander^[2] andgeneral^[8] in theRebel Alliance at thetime of theBattle of Yavin. AfterPrincessLeia Organa wasrescued from aboard theGalactic Empire'sDeath Star byLuke Skywalker,Han Solo,Chewbacca,C-3PO, andR2-D2, and returned to thehidden rebel base onYavin 4, Willard greeted them and was glad to know Organa was safe, as when they heard about thedestruction ofAlderaan, they feared the worst.^[5]

When it was discovered that theship they had used, theMillennium Falcon, was tracked and that theDeath Star had arrived.^[5] Willard was responsible for reviewing theflight simulator records of anypilot who wished to fly anX-wing starfighter for the Rebel Alliance prior to granting their recruitment.^[7] Willard later helped coordinate the battle against thesuperweapon.^[5] During the battle, Willard was in the war room with acontrol officer, GeneralJan Dodonna,ColonelBandwin Cor, and Organa. When Dodonna asked whether there were any other reversion signatures, Willard replied that it was just the Death Star's. A partial transcript of recordings from the war room, which included Willard's comment, was eventually placed inThe Rebel Files.^[8]

At Mako-Ta Rebel Base[]

After a failed meeting withRegentDors Urtya onMon Cala in an attempt to recruit theMon Cala Mercantile Fleet, Willard was present at theMako-Ta Space Docks in a meeting ofAlliance High Command whenChancellorMon Mothma requested the report on Mon Cala by Organa. As Organa stated that Urtya would never lead a mutiny against the Empire, Willard reacted with disappointment. Organa continued, and outlined her plan to rescueKingLee-Char, in order to secure an alliance with theMon Calamari and incorporate thefleet into their ownnaval forces.^[6]

Eventually, Organa andher team were able to breach aprison onStrokill Prime and find Lee-Char. Too injured to move, they recorded his final words before he waskilled by Imperialstormtroopers.^[9] Although Urtya was able to recover the recordings from Organa, he sent the message to theFleet Captains of the Mon Cala fleet, resulting in theirmutiny and defection to the Rebel Alliance.^[10]

After the mutiny, Willard was given command ofYavin's Hope that had been refitted for combat by theKingdom of Shu-Torun, by order ofQueenTrios. Willard utilized thecruiser as theflagship ofDelta Group and remained present at the Mako-Ta Space Docks during a ceremony celebrating the new Alliance Fleet and for rebel personnel and rebel allies to witness the dispersal of the rebelnaval forces. During the ceremony, Willard invited Organa to his cruiser, but she turned down the request, preferring to be with Mothma just in case she was needed.^[4]

Prior to launch, Organa asked for a check-in of sub-groups, and Willard was the final one to confirm that group had no issues. Willard also told Organa to tell Mothma good luck for her speech, believing that she would stun the crowd. After Organa informed Mothma that the fleet was ready, she also mentioned Willard's statement, and told Mothma that he knew he would be impressed.^[4]

As the ships were ready to launch intohyperspace, an error prevented the launch of the Willard's cruiser, as well as all the other ships that had been refitted withShu-Torun technology. The fault resulted in the failure of all launches, lost communications, disabled armament, and the ships being unable to launch theirstarfighters. At the sametime,Death Squadron, under the command of theSith LordDarth Vader,arrived and fired on the nearest cruiser, Willard's starship.^[4]

Death[]

As Willard's cruiser was attacked by theExecutor and an accompanyingImperial-class Star Destroyer, Mothma, Organa, GeneralDavits Draven, and other rebel personnel watched on in horror from the base. Consistently pummeled bylaser fire, Willard ordered all power to be routed to thedeflector shields, but a crewmember stated that they were quickly losing them. In response, Willard ordered that the ship be abandoned, but the ship was quickly annihilated as Willard told his crew thatmay the Force be with them all.^[4]

An enormous eruption engulfed the cruiser, andDarth Vader looked on from thebridge of theExecutor, satisfied that the rebels now understood and that he felt their terror.^[4]

Personality and traits[]

Willard, ahumanmale, had fair skin,grayinghair, and darkeyes.^[4]

Skills and abilities[]

As a general, Willard was able to command others. When his cruiser was attacked, he recognized that the shields required full power, but was not able to recognize earlier that the cruiser had to be evacuated.^[4] Willard had the ability to review flight simulator records, and make a determination on whether pilots were able to fly X-wing starfighters before recruiting them.^[7]

Equipment[]

As anAlliance officer, Willard was dressed inofficer fatigues and wore thecommand insignia on the left side of his chest. The insignia had five pips: four red pips on each corner and a blue pip at the center.^[5] While in command of Beta Group, Willard utilized a cruiser as his flagship.^[4]

Behind the scenes[]

Willard first appeared inStar Wars: Episode IVA New Hope,^[5] where he was physically portrayed byIrish actorEddie Byrne and voiced byMichael Bell.^[11] Willard's first name was first mentioned inStar Wars: A New Hope junior novelization, which was released in2017 and authored byRyder Windham and edited byEmil Fortune.^[12]

Star Wars lead writerKieron Gillen was the one who came up with killing off Willard, as he thought about how the heroes rose through the ranks so quickly.^[13]

Appearances[]

• Star Wars LINE Webtoon
• Star Wars: Episode IVA New Hope(First appearance)
• A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy(andaudiobook)
• Star Wars: A New Hope junior novelization(First identified as Vanden)
• Star Wars (2015) 45
• Star Wars (2015) 50

Non-canon appearances[]

• Disney Magic Kingdoms(Mentioned only)

Sources[]

• Star Wars Helmet Collection: Y-wing PilotWeapons & Uniforms: Yavin Base
• Star Wars: Geektionary: The Galaxy from A - Z
• Star Wars: The Rebel Files
• "The General's Voice: Michael Bell" —Star Wars Insider 196
• Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy
• "The Rebel Alliance" —Star Wars Encyclopedia
• Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide(First identified as Huyck)
• Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
• The Star Wars Archives: Episodes I–VI, 1977–2005

Notes and references[]