CAPT Chuck Vaughan presents a recognition plaque and gavel to COL Nagy.
LT William Myers, CEC USN Former
At its March 19 meeting, the Catalina Mountains Satellite Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) recognized its outgoing president, COL William J. Nagy, USA Retired, for outstanding leadership during his three-year tenure.
Bill Nagy was born in Bridgeport, Conn. He attended the University of Connecticut and participated in the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Following commissioning in 1966, COL Nagy attended Quartermaster Officer School in Fort Lee, Va. From there, he was ordered to St. Louis, Mo., where his work concentrated on the Army’s procurement of heavy construction equipment.
Eight months later, COL Nagy was ordered to the 506 Field Depot in Saigon, Vietnam, where he served from September 1967, through September 1968. During this tour, he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. COL Nagy was then assigned to Fort Ord, Calif., as a company commander. He was promoted to Captain in January 1971.
Bill returned to Vietnam in February 1971, with the 101st Airborne Division located at Camp Eagle in Phu Bai, Central Vietnam. Following his one-year tour, he was assigned to Fort Lee, Va. In January 1973, COL Nagy was assigned to the 8th Infantry Division headquartered in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, where he spent the next four years.
COL Nagy became involved in the U.S. Army’s major reduction in force of its active-duty components, which took place in October 1976. Bill took a civil service position with the Department of Defense, while remaining active with the Army Reserve. In 1982 Bill was promoted to Major as he continued his reserve service with the 163rd U.S. Army Reserve School located in the Bronx, N.Y. COL Nagy was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1987.
In November 1990, COL Nagy’s current reserve unit, the 301st Area Support Group, was called to active duty. COL Nagy arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December 1990, to begin his eight-month deployment in support of the Gulf War. In April 1992, COL Nagy was promoted to full Colonel.
Col Nagy’s last assignment was with the Army Materiel Command, headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Va. In July 1997, COL Nagy retired from the Army Reserve following 31 years of active duty and reserve service.
His military awards include, among others: Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with two oak leaf clusters, Meritorious Service with oak leaf cluster, Army Commendation with oak leaf cluster, Army Achievement, Vietnam Service with two service stars, and Southwest Asia Service with two service stars. Bill qualified as an expert in various firearms and received “jump wings” from both the U.S. and German Armies.
In 2013 COL Nagy and his wife Leslie retired and moved to SaddleBrooke. In the latter part of 2014, the Tucson Chapter of MOAA established a satellite chapter in SaddleBrooke. Bill was among the initial members.
As noted above, in January 2019, COL Nagy was elected president of the Catalina Mountains Satellite Chapter. The COVID-19 pandemic made maintaining the vitality of the organization a significant challenge. Following the normal 2020 summer hiatus, a new meeting venue had to be found. Regular monthly meetings reconvened in October 2020, at the SaddleBrooke One Tennis Center. Meetings continued there through March 2021.
Since February of this year, regular meetings of the Catalina Mountains Satellite Chapter of MOAA have been held at the SaddleBrooke Ranch Grill, located some five miles further north of SaddleBrooke on Oracle Road. It is anticipated that when meetings resume on Oct. 15 that SaddleBrooke Ranch Grill will be the meeting location.