At the TUSD board meeting held December 8th, Principal Estrella had the privilege of presenting an honorary diploma to former Cougar Clyde “Rocky” Brown, who cut his high school experience short to enlist and fight in the Vietnam War.

Clyde was only 17 and a junior at Sahuaro when he entered the Marine Corp and began training as a hydraulic specialist. It would only be a matter of time until he was called to serve in the ongoing Vietnam War where he would be part of the Flying Tiger Quadrant. In this quadrant, he directly supported F-4 Phantoms, which provided ground support as well as carried out bombing missions. Clyde would go on to serve in Okinawa, Japan, and the Philippines before leaving the Marines in 1977. Due to his time in the service, he has received medals including the Vietnamese Commendation Medal and the Vietnam Gallantry Medal. He retired into the aerospace industry at the University of Iowa, and now he is here finally receiving his high school diploma.

Superintendent Dr. Trujillo introduced Clyde before handing it off to Principal Estrella to present him the diploma over the zoom call. When presenting the award Mr. Estrella was able to thank him for his service and stated, “It’s a great night to be a Cougar.”

You can watch the full presentation by going here > 2020 Meeting Videos > December 8th meeting > and skipping to the 2 hours and 10 minutes mark.

Thank you to Wanda Wright and Cameron Johnson of the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services for making this possible.