El Segundo, CA, January 2023 – Colonel (Retired) William V. Wenger (UC-Santa Barbara ’68) has been accorded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award upon nomination by Orange County Council and the Boy Scouts of America. Brother Wenger became an SAE in 1967, in California Eta, University of California at Santa Barbara. This rare Distinguished Eagle Award is granted to Eagle Scouts who, after 25 or more years, have distinguished themselves by their life work serving their communities, state, and nation.
William Wenger distinguished himself throughout his careers as an Army officer, a commercial real estate executive, a college professor, and a professional writer through his continued service to God, country, and to other citizens by following the principles of the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
Wenger, as a reserve and National Guard Army Officer, served more than 42 years commissioned service including Infantry Battalion command during LA Riots, the Northridge Earthquake responses. After his initial military retirement, four voluntary combat tours as an Infantry Colonel in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has been recognized as an Outstanding Alumnus of the U.S. Army War College and a Distinguished Graduate of the American Military University.
Notably, Wenger spent his extremely limited time while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, organizing and leading efforts of fellow Scouters to revive, develop and support the Boy and Girl Scouting programs of those countries while working with the World Organization of the Scouting Movement.
Wenger has been involved and served Scouting for more than 65 years locally, nationally, and internationally. He is currently an advisor to Post 558, the Infantry Learning for Life Explorer Post in Orange County, California.
The National Eagle Scout Association Committee, all Distinguished Eagle Scouts, as part of the Alumni Relations of the Boy Scouts of America’s national office, selects an extremely limited number of those 2.7 million who, since 1910, have earned the Eagle Scout Award to be recognized as Distinguished Eagle Scouts. That number of Distinguished Eagle Scouts is less than one tenth of one percent of all Eagle Scouts.
Since 1969, when the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award was created, less than 2,500 Eagle Scouts have been designated as Distinguished Eagle Scouts. Those eminent and famous few include Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell and Charles Duke, President Gerald Ford, three Medal of Honor recipients, senators, congressmen, cabinet members, governors, and national church leaders.
The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award is, indeed, a very rare and highly distinguished honor. For additional information, please contact W.V. Wenger, wvwenger@yahoo.com; 310 413-3104.
