Distinguished Members

The members of the American Legion Paradise Post 149 are proud to have (had) some truly distinguished members amongst our ranks.

US Senator, Mayer "Chic" Hecht

US Senator, Mayer "Chic" Hecht, was an Intelligence Officer during the Korean War and an inductee into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame. Sen. Hecht was was a Nevada State senator from 1967 to 1975, serving as Senate minority leader from 1969 to 1970, and was elected to the US Senate in 1983. Sen. Hecht also served as US Ambassador to the Bahamas from 1989 to 1994.

US Congressman, Dr. Joe Heck

US Congressman, Dr. Joe Heck is a Major General in the US Army Reserves who served in a number of military theaters including Iraq. Gen. Heck is board certified physician in Emergency Medicine who received his direct commission into the United States Army Reserve, Medical Corps in 1991. He is also a Flight Surgeon and is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. Dr. Heck served as a Nevada State Senator from 2004 to 2008, and was elected to the US House of Representative in 2010.

Lieutenant General Emil "Buck" Bedard

Lieutenant General Emil "Buck" Bedard is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps who served as Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies and Operations. LtGen Bedard served in overseas in Vietnam, the Gulf War, Somalia and Japan. He is a graduate for the U.S. Army Advanced Infantry Course, Armed Forces Staff College, and the Army War College. He retired in 2003 with 38 year of service to our nation.

Major General Mark J. O'Neil

Major General Mark J. O'Neil is retired from United States Army and last served as the commander of U.S. Army Alaska. He previously served as the commanding officer of Delta Force from July 2009 to August 2011. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS with a Masters Degree of Military Arts and Science. He has participated in numerous combat operations, including peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and 15 deployments in support of overseas contingency operations in Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom and in Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. He assumed his final assignment on July 12, 2017, before retiring in 2019.

Brigadier General Francis P. Gonzales

Brigadier General Francis P. Gonzales served as the Assistant Adjutant General of the Nevada National Guard, as well as the Commander of the Nevada Army National Guard. Gen. Gonzales mobilized in two campaigns in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and served as the Chief of Staff for the Gulf Region Division Project and Contracting Office, where he supervised all contractors and completed over 3,400 projects, worth over $18.4 billion dollars. General Gonzales was also responsible for the 2,700 Joint-Force Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airmen employed across the hostile combat zone that contributed to the reconstruction of Iraq.