At Nuvision, our Heroes program was created to recognize people who make a real difference in the communities we serve. Veterans, first responders, volunteers, and everyday people who step up when someone needs help are a big part of what makes a community strong.

This month, we’re proud to recognize Jesse Chitwood, Commander of VFW Post 1760 in Mesa, Arizona. Jesse served his country as a United States Marine, including during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but his commitment to service didn’t end when he came home. For more than two decades, he has continued working to support fellow veterans, strengthen his community, and make sure the next generation understands the sacrifices made by those who served before them.

A Childhood Goal That Became a Life of Service

Jesse grew up in Phoenix and knew from an early age that he wanted to become a Marine. Much of that came from his great-uncle, a Marine who served during World War II and Korea. Jesse remembers him as a small man with a huge smile, a positive outlook on life, and some incredible stories about what he had experienced in combat.

Years later, while attending college and working in engineering, Jesse found himself wondering whether that was really the path he wanted to follow. The answer kept coming back to the same thing he had thought about since childhood: he wanted to be a Marine.

He enlisted in November 2000, less than a year before the September 11 attacks. After 9/11, his reserve unit began training heavily, and by early 2003 Jesse was activated and sent to Kuwait in preparation for the invasion of Iraq.

As a bulk fueler and radio operator, Jesse was part of the massive logistics operation responsible for keeping Marines moving north. His unit established fuel points, water supplies, and other critical infrastructure as forces advanced through Iraq. After returning home, Jesse was promoted to Sergeant and eventually helped prepare hundreds of Marines for deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, and other locations.

That work went beyond basic military training. Jesse helped develop programs focused on desert warfare, heat-related emergencies, convoy attacks, improvised explosive devices, and cultural awareness. He wanted Marines heading overseas to understand not only how to protect themselves, but also how to work with local communities without creating unnecessary conflict.

The Welcome Home That Changed Everything

When Jesse returned from Iraq in 2003, members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars were waiting for his unit.

Many of the men welcoming them were Vietnam veterans, and what they told the returning Marines stayed with Jesse. They explained that they had not received the kind of welcome home they deserved after Vietnam, and they were determined to make sure the next generation of veterans had a different experience.

“They said, ‘We didn’t get this kind of welcome home, but we’re going to make sure you guys get this welcome home,’” Jesse recalled.

That simple act started Jesse’s relationship with the VFW. He began volunteering, helping with care packages and deployment-support activities, and gradually took on more responsibility. Over the years he served in numerous leadership positions before becoming Commander of Post 1760, a role he has held on and off since 2010.

For Jesse, the VFW became much more than a place for veterans to meet. It became a place where people who had shared similar experiences could find support from others who understood what they had been through.

It also became a way for Jesse to help veterans who may not realize they are entitled to assistance through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

As a disabled veteran himself, Jesse understands how easy it is to dismiss problems or assume they are simply part of getting older. He spent years before recognizing that some of the conditions he dealt with were connected to his military service and exposures during his deployment.

“Not all wounds are on the outside,” he said.

Today, he helps other veterans understand the benefits available to them, properly document service-connected conditions, navigate VA paperwork, seek treatment, and pursue compensation when they qualify for it. One of his goals for Post 1760 is to establish a full-time accredited service officer with regular office hours so veterans can walk through the door and get knowledgeable, hands-on help.

A Community of Veterans Serving Their Community

Jesse has also worked to make sure Post 1760 remains connected to the larger Mesa community.

The post has been part of Mesa since 1929, and Jesse believes its future depends on continuing to serve people outside its own walls. He summed up that mission with a simple phrase: “a community of veterans serving their community.”

Under that philosophy, Post 1760 has supported Feed My Starving Children, sponsored local Little League teams and the Young Marines, partnered with organizations including Disabled American Veterans and the American Legion, and supported programs helping military families and veterans throughout the region.

The post also hosts community events and helps raise money for the Pat Tillman ASU Scholarship Foundation. Jesse said those community projects consistently bring veterans together because they give members a chance to work toward something that matters.

Post 1760 has also played an important role in the East Valley Veterans Parade. When Mesa stopped organizing its Veterans Day parade years ago, local Vietnam veterans, VFW members, American Legion members, and other volunteers stepped in and made sure the parade continued. Their work eventually helped create the East Valley Veterans Parade Association, which continues bringing veterans and the community together each year.

Honoring Veterans From the Air

Another cause especially important to Jesse is Grounded No More Veteran Flight Lift, a local program that provides veterans with free honor flights from Falcon Field.

The program uses local pilots and aircraft to take veterans over the Superstition Mountains and surrounding landmarks while sharing the history of the region. Jesse became involved after seeing the organization at the airport through his own interest in aviation and eventually took one of the flights himself in a World War II-era Stearman.

He has since helped bring Post 1760 members into the program as volunteers. The post helps with events, submits veterans for available flight slots, and provides financial support to help cover aviation expenses.

For Jesse, the flights are about more than getting someone into an airplane. They are another opportunity to give veterans the recognition they deserve, particularly older Vietnam veterans who did not always receive that recognition when they first returned home. Bringing children to watch the flights and ceremonies also gives younger generations a chance to meet veterans personally and hear their stories, while those stories can still be told.

That connection between generations matters deeply to Jesse. He wants young people to understand that veterans are ordinary people who went through extraordinary circumstances, and he believes meeting them face-to-face is one of the best ways to preserve that history.

Keeping the Mission Going

After years of leadership at Post 1760, Jesse is also thinking about what comes next.

His goal is not to make the organization dependent on one commander or one group of volunteers. He wants new leaders to step forward with their own ideas while ensuring the post remains financially strong, involved in the community, and prepared to help veterans for years to come.

Rather than trying to predict what the organization will look like decades from now, Jesse wants Post 1760 to maintain a strong five-year plan that is reviewed and extended every year. The objective is straightforward: leave the post stronger than he found it and give the next generation the foundation it needs to continue the mission.

That attitude is exactly why we are proud to recognize Jesse Chitwood as this month’s Nuvision Hero.

At Nuvision, supporting veterans and the people who strengthen our communities has always been important to us. Jesse’s story is a reminder that service doesn’t necessarily end when someone comes home or takes off the uniform. Sometimes it simply takes a different form.

Whether he is helping a veteran work through the VA system, bringing volunteers together for a community project, supporting an honor flight, working with young people, or making sure another veteran hears the words “welcome home,” Jesse continues to serve.

We’re proud to recognize him for that service and grateful for the work he and the members of VFW Post 1760 continue to do for veterans, families, and the Mesa community.