DALLAS - Jay Hilliard walked into a surreal scene as he returned to his father's East Dallas home on noon Wednesday.
"You could see the blood on the bed and the blood in the closet," he said walking through a guest room.
Blood still stains the cream-colored bedspread, along with a quilt folded nearby.
Hilliard said he called out for his 86-year-old father, A.J. Hilliard.
"He said 'I'm in here,'" Hilliard said of his father, who he found crumpled on the ground of the guest room closet. "I was like, 'What's going on here?' I pushed it open and there he was.'"
He was bleeding from a head wound he apparently received two hours earlier from an intruder.
Mr. Hilliard said it all started around 10 a.m. Wednesday, which was when he said he said he got up to answer his doorbell believing it was a neighbor.
"I opened the door and a guy just stuck a knife right in my throat and said, 'I want your money,'" Mr. Hilliard said. "I said, 'I'll get it for you.'"
The intruder appeared to be in his 20s and was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and yellow gloves.
Mr. Hilliard handed over $80. The robber then picked up an iron from the guest room.
"The guy just picked that thing up and hit me upside the head," Mr. Hilliard said while pointing to the bandages wrapped around his head.
The perpetrator then tied up the injured 86-year-old man and locked him in the closet before stealing more.
Mr. Hilliard served as principal at Dallas Independent School District's Silberstein Elementary for 27 years, and as a woodworking teacher for nine years before that.
He also piloted a B-24 in the Pacific during World War II, and even survived after ditching his damaged bomber into the ocean.
Six decades later, he again feels pretty lucky.
"Man, if the Lord didn't look after me today, he never did," Hilliard said smiling thankfully. "He took care of me during the war; he took care of me again today."
Mr. Hilliard still attends senior dances, loves to fish and is addicted to solitaire.
Though bruised and battered after a violent attack, he said he hopes his injuries won't be too much of a setback.
Dallas police collected some clues from the scene, including the iron that was used to strike Mr. Hilliard.
The robber also got away with two rings, two watches and a 22 caliber pistol, all valued at more than $6,000.
E-mail jwhitely@wfaa.com
