Capt. Vaughan thanks Maj. Gen. Whitehead for his presentation and prepares to present Certificate of Appreciation. (Photo by Char Godec)
Former Lt. William Myers, CEC, USN
The Catalina Mountain Chapter (CMC) of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) held its most recent luncheon meeting on Oct. 21 at SaddleBrooke Ranch. The meeting began with a business session presided over by retired Capt. Charles Vaughan, U.S. Navy, president, during which members were updated on the chapter’s current and upcoming activities.
The day’s speaker was retired Major General J.T. Whitehead, U.S. Air Force. Maj. Gen. Whitehead had an extensive military flying career, which included flying the U-2 on many missions. Maj. Gen. Whitehead was born and raised in New Jersey and graduated from the University of Illinois Institute of Aviation, where he was a member of the Air Force ROTC Unit.
Maj. Gen. Whitehead’s presentation focused on the 18 years of cooperative efforts by the United States and the People’s Republic of China to memorialize the famous WWII Flying Tigers. During WWII, China and the United States were allies. The Flying Tigers were executing missions against the Empire of Japan. The result of this cooperative effort is the Flying Tiger Guilin Heritage Park in China.
The November luncheon meeting of the CMC was held at SaddleBrooke Ranch Grill on Nov. 18. The speaker was CMC member retired Lt. Cmdr. Steve Didio, USN. who also serves as First Vice Commander American Legion Post 132 (Oro Valley). He discussed the initiatives and goals of the American Legion, particularly those of his chapter.
Steve began his naval career as an enlisted man for nine years. Then, as a chief petty officer, he was selected to attend Officers Candidate School in Newport, R.I., and was commissioned in 1986. He holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Chapman University, and a master’s degree from the University of Maryland.
If you are a former or present officer of the uniformed services interested in joining our organization, please contact Membership Chair, retired Lt. Col. Donald Timian, U.S. Army, by email at [email protected] or by telephone at 571-216-3679.
The membership of CMC encompasses the areas of Catalina, Oracle, parts of Marana and Oro Valley, SaddleBrooke, SaddleBrooke Ranch, San Manuel, and Sun City. For additional information, please visit our website at www.catalinamountainsmoaa.org.
The CMC and MOAA are nonprofit, Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(19) tax-exempt veterans’ organizations dedicated to maintaining a strong national defense and preserving the earned entitlements of members of the uniformed services and their families.