Several members of the Catalina Mountains Satellite (Tucson) Chapter (CMSC) of the Military Officers Association of America MOAA) attended the interment ceremony for indigent and homeless veterans at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery at Marana Arizona on Saturday, April 27, 2019. Seventeen cremains of Veterans who served in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and…
The Catalina Mountains Satellite Chapter met April 20, 2019, at MountainView Mesquite Grill in SaddleBrooke. Our April guest speaker was Army Colonel (Retired) Joseph O’Connor, who talked about how his military career was directly affected by his attendance at Officer Candidate School (OCS). Colonel O’Connor was drafted in 1966 and attended Basic Training at Fort…
The Catalina Mountains Satellite Chapter met March 16, 2019, at MountainView Mesquite Grill in SaddleBrooke. Our March guest speaker was Petty Officer (PO) 1 (E-6) Harry Lerner, U.S. Coast Guard, who talked about his years being in the United States Coast Guard. Both his parents were swimmers so he grew up swimming, as well. At…
The Catalina Mountains Satellite Chapter met February 16, 2019 at the MountainView Mesquite Grill in SaddleBrooke. The speaker was Gino Elsea, an Army retired Chief Warrant Officer 2, who is also a Department of Defense GS15, retired. He was given an assignment to do a briefing on Turkey for Great Decisions. Mr. Elsea updated the…
Lorna Fairchild, Secretary The Catalina Mountains Satellite Chapter met January 19, 2019 at the MountainView Mesquite Grill in SaddleBrooke. The speaker was Jerry Wilkerson, a former U.S. Navy serviceman, from a military family which includes two Marine Corp Generals. Jerry told us about his experiences as a press spokesman for two U.S. Congressmen. Jerry’s intro…
Lt Col Mark Schwartz took us back in time to the era just before the space age began, the mid 1950s. The US and USSR were both working to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles. During this time period, the U.S. periodically flew high altitude aircraft near the Soviet Union border in order…
The Missing in America Project (MIAP) was created in 2007 to provide honor and respect to those who have served this country, by securing a final resting place for these forgotten heroes by interring the unclaimed remains of veterans. Mr. Ed Torres (US Army, Retired), the Southern AZ coordinator for the Missing in America Project,…
Ms. Kay Williams of the Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Lt. Cmdr. (USN Ret) Steve Didio of the Oro Valley American Legion Post provided an update to the members of the Catalina Mountains Satellite Chapter of MOAA about the Southern Arizona Veterans’ and First Responders’ Living Memorial in Oro Valley at our monthly…
Col Rett Benedict (USAF Ret) Dr. Sandy McNabb of SaddleBrooke enlightened our members with “Syria: Why is the civil war so difficult to resolve?” Her background is excellent for this topic as she had an international career including university professor, Internet Technologist and Telecommunications executive and lived in England, Belgium, Germany and Egypt. She…
Rett Benedict Willy Halpert shared his experiences in the ‘Six Day War’ (June 5-10, 1967) and more with our Catalina Mountains MOAA Group. Willy was French born in 1933, a holocaust survivor and a member of a special Israeli Navy unit that was equivalent to the US Navy SEALS. He and his wife moved…