Overview:
Honors to be held during the Memorial Day observances at the Hollister Veterans Hall.
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Hollister residents Jeff Wilson, Sr. and Richard Wagoner, Jr. will be honored as Veterans of the Year by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) during the Nov. 11 Veterans Day Ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Building Plaza.
The two will join 58 previous honorees since the award’s inception in 1994.
“We believe these heroes should be recognized while they’re still with us,” LULAC President Irma Gonzalez said. “Our veterans have served our country, and many continue serving in our communities every day. We need to respect them and show our gratitude and respect.”
Wagoner joined the Air Force in 1967 at the height of the Vietnam War, convinced by an uncle who was a recruiter. His previous experience with computers, particularly in using punched card method equipment, allowed him to skip both basic and technical training.
Originally assigned to the Manned Orbiting Laboratory Program, an early space station project, he moved to Sunnyvale just in time to see it canceled. From there, he moved into the complex work of satellite tracking.
“We had a mainframe and support equipment,” Wagoner said, “whereas now everything is done by one machine. It was totally new to us. The technology is amazing when you consider the distance that we communicate with satellites and the speed at which we talk.”
Discharged in 1971, Wagoner worked for engineering and defense contractors, including Lockheed, L-3 Communications and System Development Corporation.
A long-time American Legion member, he was elected District Commander in 2007 for the posts in Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Monterey counties.
But most people recognize Wagoner for his work with the American Legion Auxiliary, helping run the Thrift Shop at Hazel Hawkins Hospital.
“When I first started, it was like a thrift shop,” Wagoner said. “But over the years, we’ve modified, and the store is now more like a boutique than anything. People donate, and the money we make goes back to the hospital for upgrades to the building and equipment.”
“It’s a way of life,” he said. “I enjoy meeting people who come in during the day. I never really thought of it as giving back. I always think of it as a need. Somebody needs to step forward and do it, and so I do it. And look at me now, I’m a Veteran of the Year.”
Wilson joined the Army in 1986 at age 18, intending to earn money for college and travel the world. He did not end up pursuing higher education, instead spending the next 10 years on bases across the United States and in Korea, Germany and Africa.
“I was a tank commander on M1 tanks, a brigade master gunner and a brigade color sergeant,” he said. “And I worked three years in the Foreign Science and Threat Technology branch, where we reverse-engineered enemy equipment to find out what its capabilities were.”
When Wilson was discharged, he said he spent three years “kind of waffling” as he tried to find a suitable job.
“The ’90s weren’t real veteran friendly yet,” he said. “I was having a hard time translating everything I did into work. So I went back in the reserves as a flight engineer on Chinook helicopters at Fort Hood. I spent three years out, went back in and was deployed to Iraq.”
He was stationed at Camp Udairi, the main airbase in Kuwait. It was shortly after the attacks on 9/11, and the camp was, Wilson said, “pretty young.”
“We were still in tents, and they were still building roads,” he said. “But it was active. We were flying 24/7 every day. So they had numerous Chinook, Black Hawk and all the different helicopters out there. It just kept growing and growing the whole entire time I was there.”
Always under threat during his missions, Wilson found the camp was the only place to relax and decompress as best he could.
“It was tough,” he said. “Lights were always on, so you had your blankets around to try to block out some of it. Everybody was milling around, so privacy was nil. It was a ball of stress, just waiting for the next mission and trying to wind down from the last one before your next one.”
After being discharged due to a leg injury, Wilson moved to Dallas and became a regional manager for CarMax, eventually transferring to California.
“During this time,” he said, “PTSD was starting to kick in, and things really started getting bad. I was struggling at the car auctions because of all the noise, activity and people jamming in. I was drinking heavily, trying to deal with it. I was just in a massive depression.”
Relocating to Hollister, Wilson attended school while his wife supported the family by working at Stanford University. In 2010, a veteran’s representative suggested he meet Mary Cortani, founder of the service dog organization Operation Freedom Paws. Cortani took him on as a client, and Wilson received his first service dog.
“He helps me regulate my PTSD,” he said. “If I start getting nervous, he’ll see the body language, he’ll smell the chemical changes, and he’ll give me specific alerts to let me recognize what’s going on. And I can take steps to calm myself down.”
After about a year of training with the service dog, Wilson found it had an “absolutely amazing” impact on his life. It changed the way he dealt with people, he said, and he wanted to help others feel the same. As a result, he became a trainer and, in 2025, the director of operations.
“The dogs completely change your life,” Wilson said, “and they’re always there to help you. They’re your battle buddy 24/7. They’re unwavering. But they can be a giant flag on you saying, ‘I’m broken.’ Everybody wants to come up and talk to you, but that is what helps heal you, too.”
While it costs as much as $30,000 to train one service dog, Operation Freedom Paws provides them to veterans at no cost. The organization also covers all the dogs’ needs, including veterinary bills, food, and required supplies, along with free boarding and daycare at its 24-hour facility.
“When people come to us, we can completely understand because we’ve been there,” Wilson said. “We can say, ‘this is how it affected me, and it may affect you the same way.’ We’ve all walked the walk, and we’re always willing to help.”
The ceremony honoring Wagoner and Wilson will begin at 11 a.m. at the Hollister Veterans Building Plaza and will be followed by a BBQ lunch at noon with free admission for veterans. The annual commemorative parade down San Benito Street begins at 1:30 p.m.
3920 Llagas Avenue, San Martín
(408) 683-9010
Hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Hazel’s Treasures Thrift Store
898 San Benito Street, Hollister
(831) 638-0526
Hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
LULAC Veteran of the Year Award Recipients
1994 – John Z. Hernandez (Post Everlasting)
1995 – Louta Pinuela (Post Everlasting)
1996 – Manuel Chavez
1997 – Robert Picha
1999 – Bob Bouchard (Post Everlasting)
2000 – Raymond “Dede” Valles (Post Everlasting)
2001 – Greg Thul (Post Everlasting); Rick Solano, Robert Martin Del Campo
2002 – Cal Turpin (Post Everlasting); Jim Caffiero; Vince Luna
2003 – Edward Quinonez
2004 – Elaine Reyna; Frank Lucchetti (Post Everlasting)
2005 – Ruben Lopez; Scott Brooks; John Alnas (Post Everlasting)
2006 – Rudy Rodriguez (Post Everlasting); Gordon Machado
2007 – Matt Caffiero; Refugio Chavez
2008 – Richard Herrera
2009 – James Perales (Post Everlasting)
2010 – Mike Pulido
2011 – Felipe Galvan, Jr.
2012 – Nazhat Parveen Sharma; Ron Sanchez
2013 – Hector Torres
2014 – Sonora Vasquez; Cesar Flores; Larry Brown
2015 – George Nava; Tommy Nava; David Nava; Nathan Vasquez
2016 – Bernie Ramirez; Sam Rivera
2017 – David Martinez (Post Everlasting); Joel Ortiz; Robert Caballero
2018 – Daniel Pagaran (Post Everlasting)
2018 – Memorial Mention – William McFarlance; Calvin Arthur Bremmer (Post Everlasting)
2019 – Jim Gibson; Ralph Marquez; Adam Mendolla
2020 – Wayne Norton
2021 – Maria Spandri; Joseph Liera
2022 – Gina Lopez; Robert DeLuna
2023 – Larry Brown; Bryan Morse
2024 – David Lopez; Robert D. Lopez, Jr.
2025 – Ellen Herrera; Ryan Grimes
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