 Bilyk was a graduate of a high school in Brzeżany, where he got to know another student of the school, Edward Rydz-Śmigły (both went to the same class and shared a bench).They became friends, joining together the Riflemen's Association and later, the Polish Legions.After World War I, Bilyk was nominated to the rank of major of the newly created Polish Army (on June 1, 1919) but following the Polish-Soviet War, he left the army and began studying law at the Jan Kazimierz University in Lwów.