More detail on this person: Chief Warrant
Officer (CWO)-4 Dennis Michael Sorges, United
States Army, passed away peacefully on April 13,
2017. Amber and Mark Irwin, Ms. Barbara Sorges,
and Father James Dowd attended him. Dennis is
survived by daughters Amber Irwin and Rima Sorges
Collins, step-son's Troy and Todd Rowland,
son-in-law's Mark Irwin and Gene Daniel Collins,
sisters Yvonne Cook, Diana Sorges, Janet
Worthey, Pam Sorges, brother Bruce Sorges, nine
grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Dennis Sorges entered the Army as a private on
January 16th, 1968 after completing two years of
community college majoring in pre-engineering. He
was quickly promoted to Specialist-5 while
attending Army Flight Ground School. On November
16th, 1969, after successful completion of
helicopter flight training, he was promoted to
Warrant Officer. He was promoted to Chief Warrant
Officer while deployed to Vietnam from November
1969 to December 1970. In his Huey Helicopter,
Dennis flew hundreds of flights into combat
environments; inserting and extracting soldiers
and Marines, Dennis saved many men at great peril
to himself and his crew. He received the Bronze
Star, Air Medal with combat "V" and three Oak Leaf
Clusters, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam
Campaign Medal, and National Defense Medal for
this service to his country.
In April 1972, CWO-2 Sorges entered the Army
Active Reserves where he attained the rank of
CWO-4. Dennis entered California Polytechnic
University, Pomona and completed his engineering
degree. While attending college, he worked at
McDonald's in Riverside at night and attended
school during the day setting an example of
education and work for his daughters that is
reflected today. In 1974, he was hired at the
Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake,
California.
Dennis Sorges, civil servant, quickly showed his
leadership value by earning a Michelson Laboratory
Award in 1976 for program management leading a
group of peer and senior engineers. Dennis showed
his leadership throughout his career leading the
Aircraft Survivability Branch, the Ordnance Test
and Evaluation Division, and Pacific Ranges and
Facilities Special Projects Manager for Test and
Evaluation Plan Development for the Lockheed
Martin F-35 Lightning Aircraft, which garnered
Dennis a second Michelson Laboratory Award for
leadership and praise by managers and coworkers,
both government and government-contractors.
Dennis retired from China Lake as Deputy Head,
Pacific Ranges Instrumentation Division
Supervisory Aerospace Engineer.
Dennis loved to golf, go to Las Vegas with
friends, and fly. He was an active member of the
Longknives, a group of Vietnam-era helicopter
pilots, and greatly enjoyed his yearly
get-together with them. Dennis loved to read as
well, counting `The Lord Of The Rings' among his
favorite books, a love he passed on to his family.
"Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores
of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in
Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not
weep; for not all tears are an evil."
Services for Dennis are as follows: May 11, 2017
@ 10:45 National Cemetery in Riverside, CA
Burial information: National Cemetery, Riverside, CA
This information was last updated 04/22/2017
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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