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News & EventsMineral Wells, TX
June 22, 2000
[PRINTABLE VERSION - PDF]"Good Morning Vietnam" New Board of Visitors Members
Mr. Adrian Cronauer | Col. Mike Williams | Maj.Gen. Victor Hugo, Jr
At the Nashville Reunion, many of you were entertained by Mr. Adrian Cronauer, the former AFVN disk jockey whose "Gooood Morning, Vietnam," started the day for a lot of young soldiers 11,000 miles from "the World." Since that time, Mr. Cronauer, Colonel Michael E. Williams, USMC, and Major General Victor Hugo, Jr., US Army (ret.), have all accepted an invitation to join our museum Board of Visitors.
While the Robin Williams movie brought Adrian Cronauer to national prominence, he has not been exactly idle since leaving the US Air Force after Vietnam. He co-authored the original story for the motion picture, and was honored for a subsequent special program, on National Public Radio, about the role of military radio in Vietnam. In addition to his "day job" as a senior partner in the Washington, DC law firm of Burch and Cronauer, he is a popular after-dinner speaker and lecturer. Mr. Cronauer appears periodically as a guest on radio and television talk shows, and his commentaries have been featured in major newspapers throughout the country.
Mr. Cronauer is Senior Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Institute, a trustee of the Virginia War Memorial, a member of the Board of the National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition, and frequently speaks before colleges, universities, veterans, social, legal, and business groups.
Mr. Cronauer received his Doctor of Law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and also holds a master’s degree in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research in New York City. Prior to turning to the law, he was a voice talent in radio and television commercials, owned his own advertising agency, managed a radio station, was a program director of a television station, and a TV news anchor.
Mr. Cronauer has taught broadcasting at the university level, authored a textbook on radio and TV announcing, and clerked at the Federal Communications Commission. His law practice concentrates in information and communications law, and he is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Federal Communications Law Journal, the Federal Communications Bar Association, and the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, among others. [BACK TO TOP]
Colonel Mike Williams, a decorated Vietnam veteran, is a resident of Oceanside, California. He holds the distinction of being both a rated Army Aviator and a Naval Aviator with over 4100 hours in several variants of the Bell AH-1 Cobra helicopter.
Colonel Williams started his military flying career as a US Army Warrant Officer Aviator. He served in Vietnam from August 1971 to August 1972, flying AH-1G Cobra gunships. During his tour, he flew over 260 combat missions in the 101st Division (Airmobile) and D Troop, 17th Cavalry. After completing his Army service, he was honorably discharged in May 1974, and returned to college to complete his education. He earned a Bachelors degree at Brockport State College, New York, and was subsequently commissioned into the U.S. Marine Corps in August 1975.
In January 1977, Colonel Williams completed his Navy flight training and was awarded the gold wings of a Naval Aviator. While serving with several Marine helicopter squadrons throughout his career, Colonel Williams qualified in the AH-1J and AH-1T, variants of the Cobra. He also served as an operational test pilot with Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 5 (VX-5), where he qualified in the AH-1W Super Cobra.
Colonel Williams was assigned to Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIRSYSCOM) in August 1988. He spent the next three years in Israel as the NAVAIRSYSCOM representative for the AH-1W Night Targeting System. He then transferred to the Aviation Department (APW), Headquarters Marine Corps in August 1991, where he served as the Attack/Utility Helicopter program coordinator.
Colonel Williams was Commanding Officer of MAG-46 Detachment A, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, Wing Inspector of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and Air Officer and Deputy Future Operations Officer of I Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF). He transferred to 1st Marine Division April 1998, where he served as the Division Air Officer until July 1999. Colonel Williams then transferred to Okinawa, Japan and he is currently serving as the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff G-3 for III Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa. Colonel Williams is also a graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, part of the National Defense University. [BACK TO TOP]
MG Victor Hugo, Jr., Graduated from the United States Military Academy, at West Point, and was commissioned a second lieutenant, Infantry on June 8 1954. He subsequently transferred to Artillery branch, and attended the Artillery & Missile Center & School at Fort Sill. OK in 1962. Following that, General Hugo was assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group in Okinawa from 1962 through 1965. During that period, he spent much of his time in Vietnam as an advisor to the South Vietnamese military.
After his Special Forces tour, General Hugo was selected to be an inter-service exchange student at the Naval War College. Upon successful completion of his course at NWC, he was assigned to duties with the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 1968, then Lieutenant Colonel Hugo returned to Vietnam as the Battalion Commander of the 1st Battalion, 44th Artillery, followed by assignment to MACV in 1969-70.
In addition to his Vietnam service, General Hugo served two tours in the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army, where he was Director of Management from 1981 through 1983; was Commanding Officer of the 16th Air Defense Artillery Group; Commanding General of the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade in Korea; and Commanding General of the 32nd Army Air Defense Command in Germany. Now retired, he currently resides in McLean, Virginia, and is a consultant in defense management. [BACK TO TOP]
