TopVet
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Randy Cunningham, Top Gun Congressman from California
In 1966, at the age of 25, Los Angeles native Randy Cunningham joined the Navy. It wasn’t long before he became one of the most highly decorated pilots in the Vietnam War. As the first fighter ace of the war, he was nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor and received the Navy Cross, two Silver Stars, 15 Air Medals and the Purple Heart, among other decorations.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Wharton B. Rivers, Jr., Advanced Radio Telecom
Wharton B. “Zie” Rivers, Jr., a retired Army Officer, joined Advanced Radio Telecom in November 2000 as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Rivers spent 20 years in the Army, serving - and excelling - in a variety of command and high-level staff positions, culminating in his assignment as a strategic policy specialist for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon. Prior to joining Advanced Radio, he had more than a decade of experience in executive management roles for some of the most prominent telecommunications companies in the U. S.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Governor of California
Gray Davis entered active duty in the U.S. Army in December of 1967, rose to the rank of Captain while serving in Vietnam in 1968-69. A life member of both the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, Gray is the highest-ranking Vietnam veteran currently serving in California State Government
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: John Patrick, IBM
As IBM's chief Internet technology officer, John Patrick leads the company's efforts in conceiving and developing the next generation of Internet products and processes.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Rodney Frelinghuysen, Congressman
Four-term Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen is a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, where he serves on a trio of subcommittees: Defense; Veterans, Housing, Environment and Independent Agencies; and Energy and Water Development.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Charlie Norwood, Georgia Congressman
Charles Whitlow Norwood, Jr. - he prefers Charlie - was born in Valdosta, Georgia, in 1941. After graduating from Baylor Military High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1959, Charlie received his bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro in 1964, and a Doctorate in Dentistry Sciences from Georgetown University Dental School in Washington, D.C., in 1967. He was elected president of the student body at Georgetown in his senior year.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Max Cleland, Georgia Senator
Lt. Cleland volunteered for duty in Vietnam in 1967. In 1968, after having been promoted to captain, he was grievously wounded by a grenade explosion that cost him both legs and his right arm.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Christos Cotsakos
E*Trade has gained a reputation for revolutionizing online stock trading and financial services, and Christos Cotsakos, its Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, has gained recognition as its pioneering visionary and head honcho.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Roger Staubach, Hall of Fame Quarterback
Roger Staubach, whose college coach called him “the greatest quarterback Navy ever had,” won the Heisman trophy in 1963 as a junior when he led the Midshipmen to a 9-2 record and the No. 2 national ranking. As “Roger the Dodger,” the scrambling, strong-armed quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys during the glory years of the 1970s, he led “America’s Team” to six National Football Conference championship games, winning four of them, and to victories in Super Bowls VI – he was also named MVP in that game – and XII.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: James W. Jarrett
As Vice President, Legal, and Director of Worldwide Government Affairs, James W. Jarrett is responsible for Intel’s relationships with governments across the globe. Before assuming his current position, he was President of Intel China for four years.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Barron Hilton, Hilton Hotels
Barron Hilton saw service as a photographer in the United States Navy during World War II before joining Hilton Hotels Corporation.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Charles B. Rangel
Charles B. Rangel is serving his seventeenth term as the congressman from northern Manhattan, an area that comprises Harlem, Washington Heights, and the Upper West Side.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: John Bach, Assistant Coach, NBA
Michael Jordan brought back John Bach to help coach the young and maturing Washington Wizards, for whom Michael came out of retirement this year to play. Bach is 77 now, a Navy veteran of the Second World War; he is in his 50th year coaching hoops.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Charles Patrick Garcia, Investment Fund Manager
Mr. Garcia graduated from the Air Force Academy, where he became the fourth highest-ranking officer in his class, leading over 4,400 cadets.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: LTG (Ret.) Emmett Paige, Jr., OAO Corporation
When 16-year-old Emmett Paige, Jr. dropped out of high school in 1947 to enlist in the Army, he likely had little inkling that he would begin a career of military service that would span 41 years, and then some.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Congressman Sam Johnson
Texas Republican Congressman Sam Johnson has represented the 3rd Congressional District since winning a special election in May 1991.
Military & Veterans Life
TopVet: Herman Wouk, Author
Eighty-six-year-old Herman Wouk is one of the most prolific and insightful novelists writing today. His books have populated the best-seller lists for the past five decades.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: David Rots, Kmart Corporation
David P. Rots is the Executive Vice President in charge of Human Resources and Administration for Kmart. Prior to joining Kmart in July 2000, he had been Vice President of Human Resources for Parke-Davis, a division of Warner-Lambert. Previously he held senior-level human resources posts at Whirlpool, SmithKline Beecham, and Pfizer.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Arturo R. Moreno, the "Billboard King"
Mr. Moreno, known as Arte, served in Vietnam. He began his career as a billboard salesman in 1973 and joined up with Bill Levine in 1984, serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of Outdoor Systems.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Heather Wilson
Heather Wilson, a 1982 graduate of the Air Force Academy who saw service in Europe, has represented New Mexico’s First Congressional District since winning a special election in June 1998. The first woman since George Lusk in 1948 to serve in Congress from her state, Ms. Wilson also is the first woman veteran to serve in Congress.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Ralph Crosby, Northrop Grumman
Ralph Crosby is a corporate vice president and President of the Integrated Systems Sector of Northrop Grumman Corporation. Based in Dallas, the sector is an aerospace systems integration enterprise in which airborne systems and subsystems are designed, developed, produced, and supported. Previously, Mr. Crosby was corporate vice president and general manager of the company’s Commercial Aircraft Division.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: William G. "Gus" Pagonis
Lessons learned during his 29-year career in the Army, from which he retired in 1993 as a lieutenant general, have served William G. Pagonis well.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: James Webb
James Webb, whose distinguished career has swung between government service and writing, hails from a family with a strong citizen-soldier military tradition. Family members have served during the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War Two, Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. Mr. Webb’s father was a career Air Force officer who flew B-17s and B-29s during World War Two, cargo planes during the Berlin Airlift, and was a pioneer in the United States missile program.
WeSalute Awards
TopVet: Jim Clark, Netscape & MyCFO
Jim Clark dropped out of high school and joined the Navy not so much to see the world as to escape Plainview. After nine months at sea, he returned to the U.S., took a math test, and came out at the top of his class.