Veteran of the Year: Maj. Gen. Wm Quinn
Retired Major General William R. (”Bill”) Quinn resides with his wife, Margo, in Mission Viejo. He has spent much of his life defending America around the world. For that distinction he recently received the inaugural Veteran of the Year Honor in a presentation at the Nixon Library.
A 30 year member of the Mission Viejo Saddleback Valley Elks, General Quinn was honored at an Elks Lodge meeting on Tuesday. Patricia Bates Chair, Board of Supervisors, Fifth District was on hand to present a Proclamation of Recognition from the County congratulating Major General Quinn on being named the 2009 Veteran of the Year and commending him for his many years of service to our country.
The Elks regularly demonstrate their commitment to our Veterans with visits to the Veterans Hospitals, and donations of clothing and sundry items. Elks Lodges throughout the nation have also adopted Vets and their families to provide them with much needed financial support. Mission Viejo, Saddleback Valley Lodge President Jim Humphrey joined in the praise of General Quinn expressing the Lodge’s pride in their esteemed member.
Major General William
R. Quinn began his outstanding and distinguished military career in the United States Marine Corps in September 1942 as a Naval Aviation Cadet and then in March 1944 he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserves; and he flew the new F7F twin engine fighter over Okinawa. Following World War II, he was promoted to First Lieutenant and augmented into the regular Marine Corps, where he would remain for nearly thirty more years.
Over the next five years, Major General Quinn made frequent deployments to the Caribbean aboard an escort aircraft carrier, a deployment to the Persian Gulf aboard the USS Siboney, and served in Tsingtao, China aboard the USS Rendova where he conducted flight operations along the China Coast.
Shortly after completing Aviation Electronics Officer School, Major General Quinn was promoted to Captain and was deployed with Marine Helicopter Transport Squadron 161 to Korea where he served as a squadron pilot and Aviation and Electronics Officer. He earned his Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Maryland in 1960, his Masters at George Washington University in 1965, as well as completing an Advanced Management Program at Harvard University and Air War College in Alabama.
In 1960, he was assigned to the Marine Aviation Detachment, Naval Missile Center Point Mugu, California as Head of Space Vehicle and Satellite Branch, Pacific Missile Operations where he was involved in John Glenn’s famous space orbit, Project Mercury He once again went to war for his county in 1965 where he served with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Vietnam and later as Commanding Officer of Marine Helicopter Medium Squadron 161, Marine Aircraft Group 16.
Major General Quinn served in the Marine Corps honorably from 1942 until 1975 and received the Legion of Merit Award, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Stare Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Air Medal, moreover his incredible service has led him to be recognized by the Nixon Library as Orange County’s first Veteran of the Year.
Andy Costello
Elks Orange Coast District
Public Relations Chairman
