Spaatz Award Recipients from the NJ Wing
The General Carl A. Spaatz Award is Civil Air Patrol’s highest cadet honor. It is presented to cadets who have demonstrated excellence in leadership, character, fitness, and aerospace education. Cadets qualify for this prestigious award after devoting an average of five years to progress through sixteen achievements in the CAP Cadet Program. Along the way they develop self-discipline, a strong sense of personal responsibility, the ability to lead and persuade, and the foundation necessary for pursuing a career in aviation, space, or technology.
The final step a cadet must complete to earn the Spaatz Award is a rigorous four-part exam consisting of a challenging physical fitness test, an essay exam testing their moral reasoning, a comprehensive written exam on leadership, and a comprehensive written exam on aerospace education. Upon passing the Spaatz Award exams, the cadet is promoted to the grade of cadet colonel.
The Spaatz Award is named in honor of General Carl “Tooey” Spaatz, the first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. One of the giants in the history of airpower, in 1929 Spaatz, together with another pilot, set an important flight endurance record of 150 hours and 40 minutes in the early days of aviation. During World War II, he commanded the Allied air campaign against the Nazis. In the Pacific Theater, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki took place under his command. After retiring from the Air Force, General Spaatz served as the first chairman of the Civil Air Patrol National Board.
William B. Matzko
#66 - 3 Jul 1968
Paul Doto, Jr.
#137 - 31 Dec 1970
Thomas E. Giodano
#263 - Sep 19 Feb 1974
James R. Bielk
#322 - 5 May 1975
Sandra D. Sullivan
#323 - 5 May 1975
Robert A. Karsten
#324 - 9 May 1975
Florence L. Dibenedetto
#353 - 17 Sep 1975
Paul W. Morich
#363 - 15 Dec 1975
Ronald S. Merriman
#382 - 16 Apr 1976
Larry J. Mayer
#415 - 30 Dec 1976
Bruce E. Ware
#485 - 17 Sep 1975
James S. Natale
#490 - 6 Oct 1978
William J. Smith
#492 - 9 Nov 1978
Alex Baldi
#557 - 16 Sep 1980
Thomas A. Kuster
#596 - 28 Jan 1982
Gregory F. Weidenfeld
#614 - 6 Jul 1982
Guy D. Cusumano
#656 - 8 Aug 1983
Donald A. Brucato
#724 - 30 Nov 1984
John G. Briar
#754 - 30 Jun 1985
Kenneth A. Hawthorn
#778 - 20 Nov 1985
David P. Briar
#807 - 30 Jun 1986
Stephen C. Gara
#859 - 16 Sep 1987
Robert R. Belmont
#866 - 15 Dec 1987
Harry K. Magazu
#875 - 7 Mar 1988
Michael R. Teger
#925 - 23 Jan 1989
Matthew W. Lacy
#931 - 28 Mar 1989
Joseph R. Martinez, III
#948 - 14 Jul 1989
Steven Drollinger
#981 - 5 Feb 1990
Peter L. Carrabba
#982 - 20 Feb 1990
James Stanislaski
#999 - 17 May 1990
José M. Figueroa
#1121 - 10 Jul 1992
Jeffrey R. Da Gama
#1141 - 4 Nov 1992
Robert M. Motz
#1232 - 7 Dec 1994
Michael J. Doniger
#1234 - 12 Dec 1994
Jessica R. Kratz
#1306 - 28 Aug 1996
Richard A. Webb
#1314 - 1 Dec 1996
Kevin M. Cavell
#1345 - 29 Nov 1997
Samuel W. Morgan, III
#1348 - 11 Aug 1997
Scott E. Bruck
#1366 - 3 May 1998
Anthony P. J. Valdivieso
#1387 - 25 Oct 1998
Kevin D. Robertson
#1394 -5 Apr 1999
Andrew E. Webb
#1419 - 15 Feb 2000
James J. Wyatt
#1458 - 11 May 2002
Matthew T. Doran
#1459 - 15 May 2002
Benjamin D. Madovoy
#1559 - 1 Jun 2005
Donald P. DeGarmo IV
#1574 - 23 Nov 2005
David Maver V
#1628 - 20 Feb 2007
Jamie Z. Wright
#1689 - 5 Apr 2008
Stephen E. Rogacki
#1736 - 25 Jun 2009
Stasia M. Rogacki
#1740 - 5 Aug 2009
Taylor A. Loving
#1803 - 4 Aug 2011
Alexandra M. Dwyer
#1973 - 23 Oct 2014
Matthew C. Jackson
#2000 - 10 Aug 2015
Benjamin Conlin
#2014 - 30 Oct 2015
John E. Rogacki
#2049 - 13 Jun 2016
David A. DeBenedictis
#2054 - 19 Jul 2016
John L. Godfrey
#2068 - 8 Sep 2016
Rachel M. Scheller
#2071 - 10 Oct 2016
William R. Godfrey
#2122 - 20 Jul 2017
David M. Acampora
#2148 - 14 Jan 2018
Conor J. Callaghan
#2154 - 7 Feb 2018
Patrick Jackson
#2155 - 16 Feb 2018
Michael L. Mucciarone
#2179 - 7 Jun 2018
Daniel A. Lisle
#2182 - 16 Jun 2018
Joyce Xu
#2191 - 14 Jul 2018
Chance Euchler
#2252 - 13 Aug 2019
Andrew R. Lu
#2353 - 10 Jun 2021
Veronica C. Vergara
#2366 - 14 Sep 2021
Brian Di Mascio
#2421 - 9 Aug 2022
Henry C. Szumigala
#2423 - 30 Aug 2022
