Jadon P. Santarpio is a Second Lieutenant in the Columbia Composite Squadron of the Oregon Wing of Civil Air Patrol

Oregon Trail Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution honored a La Center, Wash., resident with its National Defense Silver Outstanding Cadet Medal on July 17, 2023, at the Portland Air National Guard Base.

Jadon P. Santarpio is a Second Lieutenant in the Columbia Composite Squadron of the Oregon Wing of Civil Air Patrol (CAP) which meets at the Air National Guard facility in Portland. Columbia is a squadron composed of both youth and adults. Is has 72 members including 38 cadets and 34 adults.

Members of the DAR Oregon Trail Chapter, Lisa Harris, Chapter Regent, and Elizabeth Eden-Maguire, Chapter Recording Secretary, attended the squadron meeting on Monday, July 17, to present a certificate, a medal and their congratulations to C/2d Lt Santarpio. DAR seeks recipients who demonstrate outstanding leadership, honor, courage, service and patriotism. The blue, white and red ribbon colors symbolize the following: light blue conveys loyalty and trustworthiness, white represents reverence and sincerity, and red suggests strength. 

C/2d Lt Santarpio joined Columbia in September 2017. He has earned nine promotions while staying active for five and a half years. He is the squadron’s Cadet Commander, which means he runs the youth side of the program. He has served in five leadership positions in the squadron starting as Cadet Flight Sergeant in 2019. He was appointed Cadet Safety Non-Commissioned Officer in 2020. He became Cadet Element Leader in 2021. In 2022 he was appointed as Cadet Flight Commander. This year he is serving as the top cadet – Cadet Commander. He also took advanced training at a Regional Cadet Leadership School in the California Wing in January of 2023.

He is currently exercising patriotism by training with and serving on the Color Guard for Columbia Squadron. He is one of a very few cadets who trains once a month with the Honor Guard at the PANG base. He marched in the Portland Hollywood District Veterans Parade in November as a member of the Columbia Color Guard and in May helped retire a U.S. Flag at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park near the Oregon Zoo.

He just completed training to get his pilot license. He completed it on Monday. He took his first CAP Orientation Ride in May of 2018, and followed that with three more flights. Cadets are allowed to take the controls during these O-Rides under the supervision of a highly trained pilot. In July of 2022, he took a big step forward by attending a National Flight Academy in Ephrata, Wash., where he earned solo wings as a glider pilot. He recently received a Cadets Wings scholarship from CAP to pay for the rest of his powered aircraft pilot training.

Civil Air Patrol’s Core Values are Integrity, Volunteer Service, Excellence and Respect. C/2d Lt Santarpio is the embodiment of these values. As Cadet Commander he teaches younger cadets about Honor. He was nominated for this award by Capt Heather Perkins, Columbia Commander; and Senior Member Olga Kosmyna, Deputy Commander for Cadets.

CAP is an aviation-oriented service organization established in 1941. It is a nonprofit organization and its members are volunteers. CAP is the volunteer auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. Besides its youth program, CAP assists community, state and nation with disaster relief and search and rescue.

DAR was founded in October 1890. It thrives today as a nonprofit, non-political, volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America’s future through better education for adults and children. DAR members can trace their lineage to an individual who contributed to securing American independence during the Revolutionary War. The Oregon Trail Chapter meets in Gresham.

In Oregon, DAR has 31 chapters. The state society of DAR also owns and operates two historical sites: Newell Pioneer Village at Champoeg and Caples House in Columbia City. Newell House is the home of Robert Newell, who built it in 1852. He is one of the early political activists who was instrumental in forming the Oregon Territory. Caples House is also known as the Dr. Charles G. and Lucinda McBride Caples Farmstead. The couple emigrated across the Oregon Trail as children and married in Oregon in 1855. Dr. Caples was the first physician in Columbia County and built his home in 1870. He helped establish the first school there.

DAR has a proud history of supporting military cadets, active-duty military and veterans throughout its 130-year history. The DAR Outstanding Cadet Medal is presented to male or female cadets around the nation and is selected locally by the unit commander. 

Information provided by Oregon Civil Air Patrol.