William M. Matz, Jr., Secretary of the Board

Retired Major General William M. Matz, Jr., is secretary of the Institute's board of directors.  He is also  president of the National Association for Uniformed Services, a non-profit, non-partisan veterans organization that promotes the earned benefits of uniformed servicemembers, veterans and their families. He joined the association after a career as an infantryman in the Army and in various senior management positions in the defense industry.

His assignment prior to retiring from the Army in 1996 was Deputy Commanding General of First Corps and Fort Lewis. Prior to that, he served as Deputy Commanding General/Chief of Staff, US Army Pacific. In 1989-1990, he was Assistant Division Commander (ADC) of the 7th Infantry Division, where he supervised the no-notice, rapid deployment of the Division to Panama during Operation JUST CAUSE.

Matz served in six different divisions and in the Army's Training and Doctrine Command as either a commander or staff officer. He was assistant professor of military science at Middlebury College in the early 1970's. He served on the Army Staff and as Executive Secretary to two Secretaries of Defense: Casper Weinberger and Frank Carlucci. He has extensive experience in joint assignments, including an assignment with the Navy/Marine Corps amphibious forces in the Pacific. His combat tours include infantry company command in Vietnam where he was wounded in action during the first day of the 1968 TET Offensive, plans officer of the Pacific Fleet's Amphibious Ready Group where he participated in amphibious operations along the Vietnam coast and as an ADC during Operation JUST CAUSE.

Among his awards and decorations are the Distinguished Service Cross (the nation's second highest award for valor); Silver Star; Purple Heart; and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

After retiring from the service, he worked as a vice president for Army Programs at Raytheon Company in Washington, D.C. Following this, he was general manager for Vinnell/Northrop Grumman's Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program. In this capacity, he was responsible for training/modernizing the Saudi National Guard to enable them to better combat increased terrorist activity throughout the Kingdom.

Matz graduated from Gettysburg College where he also received his commission as a 2LT. He holds an MA degree from the University of San Diego and is a graduate of the US Army War College and the Senior Executives in Government/Management Program at Harvard University. He also completed the Army's Airborne and Ranger Courses and is a Master Parachutist. He has remained active with Gettysburg College, having served on the Board of Fellows, the Commission on the Future, and Class Reunion Gift Committee chairman.

In 2005, President Bush appointed Matz to the Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission to carry out a study of the benefits that are provided to compensate and assist veterans and their survivors for disabilities and deaths attributable to military service.