Cecil Dennings entered the U.S. Marine Corps at the age of 18 from his home state of Michigan. After basic and technical training Cecil was assigned to the USS Ranger CVA61, a Forester Class aircraft carrier. He served two combat support deployments aboard the USS Ranger in 1972 and again in 1973. He participated in almost daily aircraft combat support and gunnery assistance positions as the carrier positioned itself along the coast near Haiphong, Vietnam. By the time of his discharge in 1975 he had earned many outstanding service awards along with the Vietnam Campaign Ribbon.

Cecil has been a member of the VFW since 1985 and has represented the VFW at Carrolton, MI, Stockton CA and finally here in Dixon since 2016. He has served in numerous leadership positions including Post Commander at Stockton for 6 years and the past District Commander supervising all VFW posts in the Northwest California region while also serving as District Inspector and District Instructor. During this tenor he was awarded the All-American recognition given to only a handful of District Commanders in the state and nation.

Cecil has been a relentless force for fund raising in support of our veterans including the red poppy drive which has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the Dixon Family Services Veterans Fund, Dixon Transitional Veteran homes and the Travis AFB Fisher House located at the Medical Center. He has led the color guard for the start of the May Fair Parade and Dixon HS Football Homecoming game. He helps fellow veterans with transportation to the VA clinic whenever they need it. He breathed new life into the post's Patriot Pen and Voice of Democracy student essay contests and furthermore made sure our single veterans at our Transitional Veterans homes were not forgotten during the Holidays

Cecil was recognized as the City of Dixon's Veteran of the year for 2023