The following is a list of the upcoming and previous military speakers who have informed, entertained and inspired Scottsdale Rotary over the years.

UPCOMING MILITARY PROGRAMS:

TO BE ANNOUNCED

PREVIOUS MILITARY PROGRAMS:

BRIGADIER GENERAL (D)  JOESEPH J. FOSS, U.S. MARINE CORPS – Foss was a Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient and Honorary Member Of The Rotary Club of Scottsdale. Joe gave at least three stirring presentations to the Club. The topics included his service as an “Enlisted Man” in the South Dakota National Guard, as President of the American Football League and his military experiences during his long and impressive career. You may also be interested to know that Joe was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic achievement as a Marine Fighter Pilot over Guadalcanal in 1942. Joe is credited with downing 26 Japanese aircraft in 72 days, seven of them in eleven minutes. Joe passed away on January 1, 2003. For a detailed history of Joes Foss, click on his name and you will be forwarded to a special page on this site created in his honor.

 Joes Foss, Park Shaw & Fred Ferguson

MAJOR (R) FREDERICK E. FERGUSON, U.S. ARMY – Ferguson was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroic achievement at Hue, Vietnam on January 31, 1968. He was then a flying Warrant Officer in the 227^th Aviation Battalion – First Cavalry Division. Fred addressed us on combat statistics in Vietnam. There are currently only 139 living individuals who have been awarded the Medal of Honor and Fred is one of only two living in Arizona.

 Fred Ferguson's Medal of Honor

COLONEL (R) JAMES H. MORRIS, U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES – Colonel Morris is a highly decorated veteran of almost forty years active duty. He spoke about his service around the world, including Korea, 6 ½ years on three tours in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and his combat tours in Africa, Panama and Granada.

LT. GENERAL (R) FRANK J. SACKTON, U.S. ARMY – General Sackton has addressed Scottsdale Rotary on several occasions. He was personally decorated and promoted Colonel on the battlefield in the Phillippines, in 1945, by General Douglas MacArthur. He later served three years as Secretary of the General Staff for General MacArthur during the Japanese occupation. General Sackton’s final military assignment was as Comptroller of The U.S. Army for seven years. Sackton, a PHD, has served almost 25 years at Arizona State University and founded its School of Business. His speech topics have included the Japanese occupation, women in the military and reflections on working with General MacArthur.

LIEUTENANT GENERAL (R) CAROL A. MUTTER, U.S. MARINE CORPS – General Mutter spoke at our Rotary Club while she was in her final assignment as Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower for the U.S. Marines worldwide. Carol is still the highest ranking woman to have ever served in our Armed Forces. She was the first female Brigadier General, first female Major General and the only female to serve as Lieutenant General in the Marine Corps. In November of 2002, she was appointed by Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as Chairwoman of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS). Carol also currently serves as President of the Woman Marines Association.    

BRIGADIER GENERAL PHILLIP BREEDLOVE, USAF 

 COMMANDER OF LUKE AIR FORCE BASE            On February 10, 2003 our club was honored to receive Colonel Breedlove as our special guest speaker. Breedlove is expected to be soon promoted to Brigadier General. He has over 3,400 hours of flight time as an F-16 Fighter Pilot and provided Members with a fascinating program just prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

BRIGADIER GENERAL JOHN M. CUSTER, COMMANDER OF U.S. ARMY INTELLIGENCE AT FORT HUACHUCA - General Custer’s presentation about Unmanned Space Vehicles and Military Intelligence were especially interesting. We even heard about possible bombing in Yemen, which in fact, successfully took place the day after his speech via remote triggering from the U.S.

DR. DON SCHALLER – Dr. Schaller was a Combat Marine Officer in Korea. He brought us an exceptional and rare color slide presentation of action in 1952 Korea.

MAJOR GENERAL (R) SAMUEL A. LEFFLER, COMMANDER U.S. SIGNAL COMMAND AT FORT HUACHUCA -  In 1987, when he spoke to our Club, General Leffler honored us by bringing seven Enlisted Soldiers who were just back from Somalia, who spread out around the room to share there individual experiences with the Members. Leffler is now Region Seven President for the Association of the United States Army, covering nine western states.

MRS. BETTIE SMITH, WIFE OF BRIGADIER GENERAL (R) CHARLES B. SMITH, COMMANDER OF “TASK FORCE SMITH” IN KOREA – Bettie shared many memorable stories about her husband, Brad, a recipient of two Distinguished Service Crosses, who was also a young Captain at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Her presentation included a large display of photographs and memorabilia from Pearl Harbor.

50^th ANNIVERSARY OF THE LANDING ON LUZON, PHILLIPPINES – On January 9, 1995, Park Shaw addressed our club and reflected on his experience as a twenty year old Infantry Lieutenant that landed with the initial assault waves in 1945 at the Lingayen Gulf near San Fabian. Park also delighted the Members by bringing the helmet and fatigue suit he wore during this harrowing assault.

50^th ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF WWII – Park Shaw presented a program involving our own members who served during World War II. Each veteran spoke for five minutes about their experiences and recollections of VJ DAY. The speakers included Park Shaw, John Schwantes, Robert McCall, John Cormack, Peter Wainwright and since deceased Air Force Colonel Bob Hearn. The event also included a fantastic Color Guard demonstration and we were serenaded by the Maul Sisters, a trio in uniform that impersonates the Andrew Sisters. It was truly a fun, inspiring and memorable celebration of the dedication and sacrifices made by The Greatest Generation.

The Rotary Club of Scottsdale has a long  tradition of honoring our men and women in uniform and will continue to do so.

For more information about our Military Programs or if you have ideas for future presentations, please contact Military Programs Chairman and Past President Park Shaw.