Family's Memorial Scholarship Helps Cadets Learn to Fly
This is William E. Hanna's flight school graduate photo. He went on to become a U.S. Air Force veteran and longtime CAP member. His family established a CAP scholarship fund in his memory.
Lt. Col. William E. Hanna Jr., a U.S. Air Force veteran and longtime Civil Air Patrol member, served in both peace and war. After his death in 2011, his family looked into creating the Lt. Col. William E. Hanna Jr. Memorial Flight Scholarship to help one cadet each year earn a private pilot's certificate.
"We wanted to do something to honor him," said Col. John Knowles, husband of Maj. Teri Hanna Knowles, one of Hanna's seven daughters. "He spent his life serving others while at the forefront of innovation. Teri and I had the idea of establishing a scholarship in his name. While he wasn't a pilot, he was a navigator in World War ll, and he loved aircraft."
President Gerald Ford (left) shares a laugh with William E. Hanna Jr., in whose name a flight scholarship annually helps a cadet.
Two of Hanna's daughters—Patty Hanna Fourcade and Teri Hanna Knowles—have been the principal donors.
"So far two cadets have received the scholarship, and we're delighted that both have completed their flight training and hold a private pilot's certificate," Col. Knowles said. The family has also enjoyed getting letters and photos from the two cadets—Catdec Col. Caleb Cheshire of the Oregon Wing's Medford Composite Squadron, the 2017 recipient, and his 2018 counterpart, Cadet 2nd Lt. Bryce Moran of the Florida Wing's Seminole Composite Squadron. Until CAP's new Cadet Wings program launched, Knowles said, this was the only scholarship set up to fully fund a cadet's completion of their private pilot's certificate after soloing.
Hanna (center) is pictured with his grandson, Daniel Knowles, and daughter, Teri Hanna Knowles. The occasion was a ceremony honoring Hanna with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Arts and Humanities from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Maryland. He was a supporter of the arts and was responsible for legislation supporting arts in public places as well as the major force behind building the Music Center at Strathmore, a nonprofit multidisciplinary arts center and presenting organization ,n Montgomery County.
The scholarship provides up to $5,000 for cadets who have graduated from a national, regional or wing-level flight academy by flying solo and who plan on continuing in an aeronautical field. The scholarship can be used for local flight training at an airport fixed-base operator or for training in a CAP plane with a CAP instructor.
"We think creating a memorial scholarship is a wonderful way to honor a specific person," Knowles said. "Besides opening the doors for a future career in aviation, scholarships help those who need financial help to finish a goal. They provide a tangible physical example of helping others that may, one day, encourage them to give back to help others."
"Col. Hanna's legacy lives on in his family and in the many good works he performed," he added. "A center for innovation was named for him in Montgomery County (Maryland), and the foyer of the Strathmore Mansion, part of the Strathmore Arts Center, is named in his honor. I think he would be most proud of the scholarship set up in his name that helps others."
Knowles, who has served in many leadership positions in CAP, started working with CAP's development team in 2018 after serving as Middle East Region commander.
"We're expanding the CAP Alumni Association, reconnecting with the millions of former members as well as looking for ways to help make a difference in our nation and in our members' lives," he said.
"Our family is fortunate to be able to share some of our success to help others. The development team is doing a lot of great things. It's a real privilege to be able to help and to be a voice for anyone who is a member, an alumnus or just a friend of CAP."
Lt. Col. William E. Hanna Jr. spent two years as a navigator in World War II in the Pacific theater. Assigned to the Army Air Forces' Emergency Air Rescue Squadron, he flew numerous combat search and rescue missions along with intelligence duties.
With a bachelor's and master's degree in economics, his career included working at the Department of Defense, for NASA and for the Social Security Administration.
Hanna served for 38 years in the U.S Air Force. His last assignment was as a reservist assigned to the Civil Air Patrol, Middle East Liaison Region, before retiring in 1981. He served in several advisory roles with CAP and as squadron commander of the Maryland Wing's Bethesda-Chevy Chase Cadet Squadron. He also served as a city councilman and mayor of Rockville, Maryland, and as a Montgomery County councilman.
Hanna and his wife, Annette, had seven daughters, six of whom were CAP cadets. Teri Hanna Knowles was the first female cadet commander of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase squadron. All three Knowles children—Michael, Rachel and Daniel—were CAP cadets. Rachel, a CAP major, is the Maryland Wing's deputy chief of staff for cadet programs. The legacy of service continues: One grandson, a graduate of the Air Force Academy, is an F-15C pilot and a colonel in the Massachusetts Air National Guard. Another is a Naval Academy graduate and a naval aviator flying the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. Another will graduate from State University of Maritime College in May and has passed his U.S. Coast Guard licensing exams as a third mate. A granddaughter served as an aviation maintenance technician in the Navy.
Leave a Legacy to CAP
You can create a lasting legacy, investing charitable dollars directly in the future of cadets and aerospace education. To set up a scholarship fund or for more information, contact Ms. Kristina E. Jones, M.A., CFRE, at legacy@gocivilairpatrol.org or call us at 833-426-4227 (toll free).