Donaldson P. Tillar III's Lasting Impact on Kansas State Lacrosse

On September 26th, Shootout for Soldiers will be hosting the 2nd annual 1LT Donaldson P. Tillar III Border War Memorial Tournament in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

Donnie grew up in West Point, NY where his father, Donaldson P. Tillar Jr. worked as an assistant coach on the lacrosse team and special assistant to the Superintendent at Army. His father also played both football and lacrosse at West Point and was a 2x National Champion and 2x All-American in lacrosse. 

In 1984 he played his first season for an Army team that made it to the Final Four. He attended Virginia Tech for a year in 1987 and also played on their lacrosse team, before heading back to West Point where he graduated in 1988. 

After graduating from flight school, he was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas with the 1st Infantry Division. In the spring of 1990, he founded the Kansas State Men’s Lacrosse team. 

Just a couple months later he was deployed with the 1st Infantry Division to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Storm & Shield. On February 27th, 1991, Donnie was killed in action after his Blackhawk was shot down over Iraq. He was the only West Point graduate killed in the Gulf War. 

Despite only being a part of both teams for a single season each, his legacy remains. Virginia Tech inducted him into their Hall of Fame this past January. Kansas State has worn patches on their jerseys honoring Donnie for over 30 years now. Kansas State has also been hosting a tournament with local club teams in his honor for some time now.

Last year Shootout for Soldiers started running the tournament. Officially called, 1LT Donaldson P. Tillar III Border War Memorial Tournament, last year's field featured Kansas State, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Missouri State and NCAA DII William Jewell. Arkansas ended up taking home the trophy.

This year’s tournament will be played on September 26th at the Paragon Star Sports Complex in Lee’s Summit, MO. Oklahoma, Kansas, and William Jewell are set to play in it and Shootout for Soldiers is still looking for more teams to play. To sign up your team or donate to the cause go to 

https://kansascity.shootoutforsoldiers.com/Race/ShootoutForSoldiersKansasCity/Page/EventInfo