American Veterans Magazine - July 2024 - Inaugural edition

INAUGURAL ISSUE

AmVetsMag.com

DOG TAGS Embattled Army vet overcomes the unthinkable

HEALTH // POLICY // EDUCATION // HISTORY // MORE

INSIDE

VOLUME 1 ISSUE. 1 SUMMER 2024

/// OPINION 6

ON THE COVER

/// FIRST RESPONDERS 38 The soldier behind the badge

We're doing next-of-kin notifications wrong

7 7 7 8

Survey says...

Our pick: Quote of the month Our pick: Political cartoon

/// HEALTH & WELLNESS 40 Nonprofit heals vets with power of music 42 Gulf War vet's epic journey is nothing short of inspiring 46 Tiny town has winning cause on Capitol Hill /// POLICY 48 Decorated U.S. Senator talks veterans' issues in Arizona 50 How every veterans' bill fared in the state legislature this year /// HISTORY 54 Influential AZ lawmaker impacted every veteran who came after him

Former Army Pvt. David Campbell might have lost one leg, but he gained four when he met his canine best friend, Caleb. Bryan Mordt captures the pair of heroes sharing an affectionate moment at their Chandler home.

The greatest thing about the U.S. Military

/// PEOPLE 10 How this DFC, Bronze Star earned his medals in Vietnam 11 Scottsdale thanks Vietnam vets 12 Exposing stolen valor across Arizona 21 AZ Veterans Hall of Fame gives awards 22 Remembering Memorial Day in Phoenix /// EDUCATION 24 How predatory online colleges prey on veterans 32 JROTC gives cadets purpose in life 34 Sun Devil Battalion wins prestigious award 35 Big names show out at veterans symposium 36 Military students earn competitive scholarships 37 Quick stats about the G.I. Bill

/// ROGER THAT 56 Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot

Summer 2024 AMERICAN VETERANS

From the Publisher

Scott@AmVetsMag.com

480-980-6800

/// SCOTT BARTLE

W ELCOME TO THE inaugural issue of American Veterans Magazine ! AVM is the flagship publication of American Veterans, a local multimedia company dedicated to helping Arizona veterans and those who serve them. I’ve been asked what my “why” is in co- founding this company. And there are two — one organizational and one personal. There are countless people, nonprofits and for-profit businesses working every day to provide our veterans the services they need and deserve. Some are well connected, well publicized and well financed. Many others are not. American Veterans Magazine and its complementary digital products can amplify the voices of these do- gooders and increase their reach and effectiveness. In effect, we aim to be the rising tide that lifts all boats captained by people working for Arizona veterans. The genesis of my personal “why” is family. My cousins Katie and Mike served in the Air Force and Navy, respectively. My brother Andy was a TOP GUN F-14 RIO and is now retired from the Navy Reserves. My dad Jeff served in the Army, and while he quips he “protected Detroit from the Viet Cong,” you can read on page 6 his non-combat service had meaning just the same. Uncle John fought in Vietnam and Uncle Bill flew Cobra helicopters. Both of my grandfathers served, one with an Army career that included WWII and Korea in addition to being post commander in Germany during the Cold War. His brother, Uncle Eck, enlisted in the Army Air

Corps and spent three-and-a-half years of his three-decade Air Force career as a prisoner of the Japanese. My cousin Fr. Frank (aka “Paratrooper Padre”) jumped onto the shores of Normandy with the 101st Airborne and was twice captured by the Germans. His career included being the Army’s chief of chaplains, and he was president of the USOpost-retirement. The military is in my DNA, yet I never served. It’s a burr I have not been able to get out of my saddle (though I tried when I unsuccessfully applied for a Navy Reserves PAO position in my 40s). Then the late former Congressman Frank Riggs presented the opportunity to be part of resurrecting (and reinventing) National Veterans Magazine. It felt like a great marriage of my desire to serve, my appreciation for service members — current and former — and my two decades in media and publishing. So, here we are. Selfishly or selflessly, I get to serve the great United States of America and its military by serving you, Arizona’s veterans. As such, it is important for you to know our publications are yours. Whether the magazine, website or social media, we encourage you to contribute and let us know when and how we can improve. Thank you for your readership — and your input. And thank you for your support of our advertisers, without whom this magazine would not exist. It is truly an all-hands-on-deck mission.

Msgr. Francis Sampson

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AMERICAN VETERANS Summer 2024

Summer 2024 AMERICAN VETERANS

Contributors

From the Editor

Elias@AmVetsMag.com

/// ELIAS WEISS

704-999-2529

T HE ANCIENT GREEKS KNEW HOW TO WRITE about their heroes. They did so constantly. Uniquely, in an era defined by the ethos of profound piety toward a pantheon of almighty gods, classicists note heroes were always mortals. To be a hero, your life had to be on the line. Today, millennia later, that part hasn’t changed. But something else has — as a society, we don’t write about our heroes like we used to. Veterans all around Arizona are doing incredible things, and they all have a story to tell. I imagine a world where I’m able to tell them all. And that’s why I've helped create American Veterans Magazine — to document the stories of our heroes and those who serve them. In this inaugural issue, you’ll find many such stories. I’m excited to share them with you. Let's start with the hero on our cover. Here’s a man who not only beat death at the hands of his enemies in combat, but who also beat death by his own hand. A man who slayed the demons lurking in his mind; a man who had everything taken

ELIAS WEISS is the grandson of a late Army veteran who

away from him, but he never stopped giving back. You'll also read the stories of brave veterans from our state taking their causes to Capitol Hill. Whether it's passing legislation to build a mental health retreat or taking the fight against predatory diploma mills to the Department of Education, these local heroes triumph in the battles they face after service. Then, there are the anti-heroes. Military imposters who lie, cheat and transgress written and unwritten rules for their own selfish gain. We’re exposing three unsettling cases of stolen valor in this magazine. Some stories will make you smile, some will get you fired up and others might jerk a poignant tear. I hope they’ll all leave you saying, “I learned something today.” Please enjoy this inaugural edition, reach out to me with your feedback and let me know what hero’s tale we should write next.

Publisher SCOTT BARTLE

served in Korea. Since earning a

Managing Editor ELIAS WEISS

JEFF BARTLE grew up in the Army. The son of a World War II veteran, Jeff was an ROTC student at Indiana University before he was assigned to the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Command in Detroit, where he worked in the logistics area for critical items used in Vietnam. His cousin, twice a POW, was a highly decorated airborne hero of World War II and the Korean War. His son was a Navy TOP GUN F-14 RIO and his brother flew Cobra helicopters in the Army. JEFF CHEW has worked for many publications since graduating from Arizona State University’s journalism school more than 45 years ago, including the Dallas Times Herald, Contra Costa Times and daily newspapers in Colorado and Washington, where he covered military installations like the Naval Weapons Depot on Indian Island and Naval Submarine Base Bangor.

SUZANNE JAMESON has been involved with the publication since its early days as National Veterans Magazine . Suzanne is a Phoenix-based writer who helps advocacy groups increase their visibility, including veterans’ groups, a personal passion as the proud mother of an Army veteran.

BRYAN MORDT is a Navy veteran who discovered his passion for photojournalism during boot camp in 1984. Since then, he has honed his skills capturing everything from military moments to community events, breaking news situations and live sports.

journalism degree from the University of Arkansas, he has worked at daily newspapers in the Midwest, Southeast and Southwest as an investigative reporter and editor covering veterans’ issues since 2018. He has broken several blockbuster investigations about stolen valor and G.I. Bill scams in Phoenix New Times and InMaricopa Magazine .

Advertising Director VINCENT MANFREDI

Advertising PATRICK MCCOBB TAWNI PROCTOR

Writers JEFF BARTLE JEFF CHEW

SUZANNE JAMESON MONICA D. SPENCER

Photographers ROB MAINS BRYAN MORDT MONICA D. SPENCER

MONICA D. SPENCER never left the Southwest. She was born in Gallup, N.M., and grew up in Mesa before attending Arizona State University. After college, she worked as a photojournalist for The Arizona Republic , where she covered Luke Air Force Base.

Designer CARL BEZUIDENHOUT

ROB MAINS is a Phoenix- based commercial and event photographer. Capturing fleeting moments, telling stories and bringing smiles keeps him striving to produce that next special image. He's the guy behind the lens for Scuderia Southwest, Ferrari Club of America Desert Region, Ferrari Club of America Annual Experience, Concours in the Hills, Arizona Concours, Challenge Cup Golf, The Toy Barn Luxury Garages, Ford GT National Rally XIII and many more.

Volume 1, Issue 1 American Veterans Magazine 9624 E. Clinton St. Scottsdale, AZ 85260 480-980-6800 Tel News@AmVetsMag.com Advertising@AmVetsMag.com

Published advertisements are not an endorsement of products or advertising claims by American Veterans Magazine . No part of this magazine may be reproduced by any means without the prior written permission of American Veterans Magazine . Copyright 2024.

AMERICAN VETERANS Summer 2024

Summer 2024 AMERICAN VETERANS

/// OPINION

2023 ARIZONA VETERAN SURVEY

“Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.” GEN. DOUGLAS MACARTHUR

Becoming an SAO involved on-the-job training conducted by an experienced officer. My first case where I was a tag-along involved a 19-year-old soldier who came from a southern Michigan farm family. After driving through country roads, we came to the entry lane of the family’s farm, which led to a circular driveway with an American flag at its center. Of course, the flag was at half-staff. We were greeted at the front door by the casualty’s mom and dad and invited to sit on the couch, which was positioned in front of the fireplace in the living room. Directly opposite the couch sat the casualty’s 18-year-old widow. On the mantel above the fireplace was an eight-by-10-inch photo of the casualty taken at boot camp a few months prior dressed in his green uniform. My trainer methodically and unemotionally went through the details of how the decedent’s body would be flown home escorted by a soldier from his unit. The casualty would be offloaded from the airplane into the mortuary’s hearse and taken to the funeral home designated by the NOK. Details of the military funeral procedures were also discussed. Questions were answered and two solemn hours later we departed the house. It was all I could do to keep my emotions in check throughout. On the way down the driveway, I asked my trainer how

Additional duty Lawmakers should bear burden of next-of-kin notification BY JEFF BARTLE F OR MANY PEOPLE, THE VIETNAM WAR STARTED IN 1961. But it was in the summer of 1970 when it became personal for me. I was newly assigned to the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Command in Warren, Mich. In addition to my

VETERAN RESPONDENTS

17%

REPORTED CONCERNS ABOUT LOSING THEIR CURRENT HOUSING AND 1% REPORTED THEY WERE CURRENTLY WITHOUT A STEADY PLACE TO LIVE.

REPORTED EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AT LEAST ONCE IN THEIR LIFETIME.

he was able to do this time after time without breaking down. He said I’d get used to it and each casualty’s family becomes just another case. That was not true for me. Every case impacted me. Circumstances in 1970 were such that a soldier could be walking in the jungles of Vietnam carrying an M-16 and 48 hours later be back in his hometown. A friend of mine was No. 1 on the SAO List when a soldier was killed on the way to Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base where he was scheduled to get on a plane to come home after his year-long Vietnam tour. When the notification team pulled up to the house, they had to walk through a yard that was all decorated with American flags and “Welcome home” signs in preparation for the casualty’s anticipated celebratory arrival home picnic the next day. These cases became the Vietnam War to me. In our nation, young men and women get sent to war because one old man, the president, convinces the majority of 535 other old men, congressmembers, to vote in favor of sending them. Usually, it’s done without any personal cost or stress on the 535. One of the consequences of their vote is someone else’s

regular job, my contemporaries and I were all given the additional duty of Survivor Assistance Officer. The essence of the job is to help the family of a servicemember who died on active duty with their interactions with the U.S. government 24/7/365. Army protocol dictated whenever a soldier died while on active duty, the next-of-kin would be notified as soon as possible, and the notification would be made in-person by a fellow soldier of equal or superior rank. Most Vietnam War casualties were enlisted personnel, so most of the notifications were made by non-commissioned officers who were E-6s and above. Roughly three hours after the notification, the SAO would show up at the NOK’s residence to outline the procedures that were going to happen in the coming days and weeks. Their input was solicited and accommodated whenever possible. The meeting usually took a couple of hours and was filled with emotion and the recitation of many memories. This was especially true when the parents were divorced, and the casualty had designated the mother as the official NOK. At the positive end of the spectrum was a Black

“

SERVICE MEMBER RESPONDENTS

Based on my experience, notification of the next-of-kin should not be made by 25-year-old lieutenants and staff sergeants at the direction of old men in Washington, D.C.

15%

27%

REPORTED CONCERNS ABOUT LOSING THEIR CURRENT HOUSING AND 6% REPORTED THEY WERE CURRENTLY WITHOUT A STEADY PLACE TO LIVE.

REPORTED EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AT LEAST ONCE IN THEIR LIFETIME.

LIKE WHAT YOU READ?

FAMILY MEMBER RESPONDENTS

18%

Don’t like what you read? Have a differing opinion? Is there another issue affecting veterans and their families you want to address? American Veterans Magazine is for veterans and, oftentimes, by veterans. So, don’t be shy; submit a letter to the editor and be part of the conversation.

child loses their life and the 535 go on with their day. This is wrong-headed thinking. Based on my experience, notification of the next-of-kin should not be made by 25-year-old lieutenants and staff sergeants at the direction of old men in Washington, D.C. It should be the responsibility of the casualty’s congressman or senator who made the initial decision. If that became the protocol, the U.S. would enter into conflicts only after very deliberate thought and analysis by the decisionmakers. Wars would be prosecuted with full effort and the disputes would be resolved within weeks or months and not persist for years.

lady who lived in downtown Detroit. In the early 1970s, anti-war sentiment ran strong in most large American cities. Indeed, Detroit was not the most hospitable place for a White, uniformed guy with short hair to be walking down the street. In our initial meeting concerning her recently deceased son, I related to her it was my job to answer her questions and concerns 24/7 and to meet with her as necessary whenever she requested. As our meeting was ending, she said, “Lieutenant, I want to assure you I will never ask you to come to my house after dark.” It was one grateful, 25-year-old, junior officer who walked out of her house that day.

REPORTED CONCERNS ABOUT LOSING THEIR CURRENT HOUSING AND 1% REPORTED THEY WERE CURRENTLY WITHOUT A STEADY PLACE TO LIVE.

REPORTED EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AT LEAST ONCE IN THEIR LIFETIME.

Editor@AmVetsMag.com

ConnectVeterans.org/Survey

AMERICAN VETERANS Summer 2024

Summer 2024 AMERICAN VETERANS

“

/// OPINION

We asked veterans – and one Army Reservist:

They are professionals. They aren’t counting the days down like those of us who were drafted. It’s an excellent career path now. GORDON JAMES, SCOTTSDALE

What is the single greatest thing about the U.S. Military?

“

The opportunities it provides for a better future. LISA CORELLA, MESA

The camaraderie. Everybody is one mission, one goal. BUCK BRAWNER, MARICOPA

“

Its competence through extremely good training. MIKE WOLD, CAREFREE

“

The people, they have this bond, this camaraderie. Even though they may have never known each other before they came into the military, they all have each other’s backs. PATRICIA LITTLE-UPAH, TEMPE

“

Our strength in numbers.

The opportunity it gives you and the people you meet. MATT RODRIGUEZ, SURPRISE

Effectiveness. It is not efficient, it is effective. HAL DEKEYSER, CHANDLER

They don’t care where you came from; put on that uniform, you’re part of the family. ROY CORLEY, PHOENIX

“

It got you in shape, it taught you discipline, and a lot of kids need that. GIL WHITE, SCOTTSDALE

What do you think? Join the conversation at AmVetsMag.com and

AMERICAN VETERANS Summer 2024

Summer 2024 AMERICAN VETERANS

/// PEOPLE BOB MADORE

/// PEOPLE GALLERY

DFC, Bronze Star recipient reflects on Vietnam service BY MONICA D. SPENCER

“It was then that I realized my rare ability to rescue wounded soldiers from live battlefields, and I was determined to save as many lives as possible,” he said. Madore eventually earned a reputation among Dustoff crew chiefs and medics for safe transporting during missions. “Nobody ever got shot, killed or died on my aircraft, even during perilous missions,” he said. One memory that continues to stand out more than five decades later is one of his earliest missions because of its reflection of the harshness of war. “I vividly remember picking up a wounded soldier, barely 18 or 19 years old, who had tragically lost both legs below the knee,” he said. “He expressed [to the medic] his belief that he had received what was colloquially known as the ‘million-dollar’ wound — an injury severe enough to send him home, perhaps even to a waiting football scholarship.” That moment for him highlighted the profound sacrifices young soldiers made, especially with the potential for having their dreams shattered by combat. That experience “also fueled my determination to save as many lives as possible, knowing that each rescue could potentially spare another individual from such devastating consequences,” he said.

MEDALS

Distinguished Flying Cross

Bronze Star

Purple Heart

14 Air Medals

Air Medal for Valor

Army Commendation Medal

Good Conduct Medal

B OB MADORE SAT DOWN WITH AMERICAN VETERANS Magazine at his Maricopa home to share some of his experiences as a Dustoff pilot during the Vietnam War. Dustoff crews were responsible for evacuating thousands of wounded and sick soldiers and allies from active combat zones in their signature Army green helicopters. While used in some degree during World War II and the Korean War, Dustoff crews became synonymous with the Vietnam War. During his seven years of service, Madore said he found the greatest purpose as a Dustoff pilot from 1967 to 1969. “My service was driven by a commitment to saving lives and maximizing my educational opportunities,” he said. “Knowing I could make such a significant impact on saving lives filled me with purpose.” In September 1966, Madore was drafted into the Army from his hometown in Davison, Mich., eventually completing basic training for radio school at Fort Gordon, Ga. During this time, he attended an orientation that enticed him to complete an aviation exam. Following graduation from radio school, Madore attended flight school and was eventually ordered to Vietnam as a Dustoff pilot. It didn’t take long for Madore to find his niche in the war.

Vietnam Service Medal

March 29, National Vietnam Veterans Day at Scottsdale Civic Center. Retired Col. Patricia Little-Upah was the featured speaker and honored guests were fellow Army veterans Chuck Byers, David Lucier and Bob Mountz. Pictured in the center photo are members of the organizing team (from left): Kelly Corsette, Scottsdale communications and public affairs director, and Scottsdale Veterans Advisory Commissioners Pat Mazzarella, Joel Stempil, Justin Layman, Steven Jackson, Pete Palmer and Land Anderson. SCOTTSDALE THANKS VIETNAM VETERANS

RVN Campaign Medal

Meritorious Unit Citation

Flight school class photograph for Bob Madore's 1968 cohort at the U.S. Army Primary Helicopter Center in Ft. Wolters, Texas.

AMERICAN VETERANS Summer 2024

Summer 2024 AMERICAN VETERANS

/// PEOPLE

What do Sgt. Maj. Billy Zinnerman (left), Maj. Dr. Le'on Willis (center) and Sgt. 1st Class Stanley Wineberg (right) have in common? They all live in Arizona, they all made up their titles and they all benefitted in some way by tricking people into believing they didn't.

the most portentous service medals — it’s time to pay the piper. The Bronze Star dangling next to the brass buttons of his midnight-blue jacket? The American War Memorial Library says he never received one. Museum-quality Bronze Star replicas are plentiful online, where they sell for as little as $10. Zinnerman has been crafting and advancing his spurious saga since at least 2010, when, ironically, he pontificated about moral upstanding on PBS’ bygone Ethics NewsWeekly. In retrospect, it was a scintilla of credibility that metastasized into a whole new identity for Zinnerman. Suddenly, he was no longer a low-ranking pawn with a lengthy criminal record, booted from the service amid accusations of repeated misconduct. He was a war hero and Maricopa City Council hopeful, and he intended to keep it that way. Zinnerman’s guile empowered him to con his way to the top. He hoodwinked Maricopa’s American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, the Marine Corps League of Arizona and eventually the Marine Corps itself. In November 2022, Zinnerman appeared at the 247th Marine Corps Ball as its guest of honor. Six months later, he was lauded by U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters as he delivered the keynote speech at a commemoration in Inglewood, Calif., and accepted an award from the city’s mayor. At the event, Zinnerman recounted fantastical tales of a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, surviving gunshots in Kuwait and rescuing his comrade from a burning car in Hawai’i. He brazenly described a quarter-century of military service that culminated with an honorable discharge in 2002. Zinnerman said he was a gunnery sergeant in Iraq in the years leading up to 9/11, leading a unit that identified targets for laser-guided missiles. Public records paint a different picture of Zinnerman at that time — one of a career criminal in Los Angeles. By 2002, Zinnerman had been charged with nearly two dozen felony counts of burglary and theft, among other things. He was convicted at least four times, public records show. The records also suggest Zinnerman never left Southern California between 1980 and his reputed retirement in 2002. Fewer than 1% of those enlisted ever reach the rank of sergeant major, according to the Sonoma, Calif., nonprofit Wine Country Marines. Sgt. Maj. Larry Leichty, one of the group’s board members, is one of the vanishing few. Liechty has had

A DISGRACED MARINE WHO CONNED HIS WAY TO THE TOP Entangled in a web of lies, a former Marine in Maricopa found himself ensnared in the sticky grip of stolen valor accusations. Like a black widow spinning artificial silk, his own web has become his prison. “This is fucking retarded,” Billy Zinnerman said in an interview. For Zinnerman — who falsely purports to be a retired sergeant major of the U.S. Marine Corps decorated with Velasquez described hunting down the bodies of Hussein’s dead sons, capturing Hussein himself, destroying an enemy tank in Iraq to save his comrades, eliminating Taliban fighters in Afghanistan and participating in the “Black Hawk Down” battle in Somalia. They were all lies. In direct response, President George W. Bush signed breakthrough legislation that made it a federal crime for anyone to falsely take credit for military valor. But Velasquez’s sullied legacy lives in on the Grand Canyon State through these three pitiful men and plenty more, cementing Arizona as the nation’s capital for stolen valor. Experts propose that, as one of the states with the most veterans and a prolific military history, the lies offer greater profit here than elsewhere.

Gilbert Velasquez, a phony war hero from Willcox, made the front page of the Arizona Range News Nov. 10, 2004, when he detailed his dramatic military exploits and styled himself as the homegrown hero of his little mountain town. He ingratiated reporters with a marble fragment supposedly from Saddam Hussein’s palace and a fabricated DD-214.

O STEAL VALOR IS TO ADORN ONESELF IN borrowed laurels of courage. It’s the product of either malice, cowardice or vanity, and generally misses its aim in each of these aspects. Because sooner or later, the carefully placed blocks of deception topple under the gravity of truth.

Such is the case with three Arizona men busted by American Veterans Magazine in the last year for exaggerating or outright fabricating their military service for various personal benefits — reputation, monetary greed and political power. The term “stolen valor” was coined by Vietnam veteran B.G. Burkett in his titular 1998 book. He busted so many people exaggerating and inventing their service records that he dubbed it “a national phenomenon, a weird ripple in the American psyche.” It was an Arizona man who singularly caused Congress to pass the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, making it a crime to wear unearned military medals.

AMERICAN VETERANS Summer 2024

Summer 2024 AMERICAN VETERANS

/// PEOPLE

his own tangles with Maricopa’s infantry imposter in his home state of California. “Zinnerman recently started defrauding some of our donors,” he said in July 2023. Wine Country Marines reported more than $700,000 in donations in its most recent filings with the IRS and last year received another donation worth $10 million from San Mateo County. Liechty didn’t disclose how much money he thinks Zinnerman was able to purloin. Coupled with donations that Zinnerman solicited, and other ill-gotten funds used to shuttle him from Maricopa to public events across the country to tout his counterfeit awards, it was a strong enough cocktail to turn heads at the FBI, Liechty said. “There is a federal investigation going on for stolen valor,” Liechty said. “[Zinnerman] got himself into some really deep water. He might not realize how deep, but it’s deep.” The FBI was mum on the issue, although multiple sources said they had spoken with investigators at the bureau about Zinnerman. “We neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation into [Zinnerman] and have no comment,” FBI national spokesperson Tina Jagerson said. The probe isn’t limited to lucre, Liechty claimed. Zinnerman could face additional federal charges for falsifying military personnel documents. The DD-214 Zinnerman provided to reporters appears to be phony. The word “medal” is repeatedly misspelled on the document, which is dated after Zinnerman’s supposed retirement. By 2002, when Zinnerman claims he retired, these discharge forms were generated electronically. But the document Zinnerman provided was typed on a typewriter. And the form lists decorations like the Bronze Star and Purple Heart that Zinnerman never won, according to national databases. The nail in the coffin for Zinnerman was the beefy list of accolades, promotions, certifications and deployments spanning the 1980s and 1990s. According to the National Personal Records Center, “There is no record of [Zinnerman’s] service after his discharge in 1980.” Records show Zinnerman was not honorably discharged, nor did he serve for close to a quarter- century. He served just three years before he was accused of repeated misconduct and ousted from the armed forces. He was a private first class when he was discharged — the second-lowest rank in the Marine Corps and seven ranks below sergeant major. “His DD-214 is a forgery,” Wine Country Marines President James Brown said. “He forged a lot of documents. It’s a lot of felonies.” News that Zinnerman’s documents were forged spread like wildfire around the military community in Arizona. Zinnerman had attained membership in Maricopa’s VFW and American Legion posts as well as

documents, pile on. As Zinnerman himself told reporters, “This is a clusterfuck.”

Photographs Zinnerman shared with reporters last year, purporting to be images of himself as a drill sergeant in Iraq in 1990, were proven to be bogus, too. Zinnerman lifted the images, which did not depict him, from the Marine Corps Times. The individual resembling Zinnerman in the photos is Gunnery Sgt. Rashaud Drayton in 2018, according to Uribe and the Wine Country Marines. Zinnerman had gone so far as to print and frame the stolen images and hang them inside his home. They were visible when reporters interviewed him last year. When asked why the photos were hanging in his home, Zinnerman said Drayton was a family member. But he mispronounced Drayton’s name. Son? Cousin? Nephew? Not quite. “Rashaud is, uh, just a distant, uh, family,” Zinnerman said. He could not even articulate if Drayton was a relative on his mother’s or father’s side of the family. Those who violate the Stolen Valor Act are required to repay stolen money and can face a prison sentence of one year under federal law. But sanctions can increase exponentially as related charges, like wire fraud and falsifying military

Zinnerman, flanked by U.S. congressmen, is the keynote speaker at a Marines ball in 2022. In reality, he's a dishonorably discharged recruit with a counterfeit DD-214.

FAKE WAR HERO SCAMMED THE STATE — AND MANY OTHERS ALONG THE WAY Some weave grand lies and exit dramatically. Then there’s Stanley Wayne Wineberg Jr., who spun a slow-burning tale of wartime heroism that spans decades and a great distance. The Apache Junction resident scammed a state agency and got away with it, forcing a change to the department’s legal policy in November. But that’s the mere tip of the iceberg. Wineberg, by all accounts, seemed like an ordinary guy. He’d drive home from his job as a cable guy, park his truck in the driveway of his cookie-cutter home and greet his newlywed wife at the door. The setting sun would throw a beam of light against his polished Purple Heart license plates as his wife closed the front door on another picturesque day. She didn’t know about the half-dozen wives who came before her. She didn’t know he left them all in financial ruin. She definitely didn’t know she’d be next.

the Marine Corps League, a prestigious veterans’ organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. Joe Uribe, a top officer in the Maricopa detachment of the Marine Corps League of Arizona, expressed remorse for accepting Zinnerman’s application to become a member some years ago. “It pains me to say this,” Uribe said in an interview. “It’s clear and apparent to me that his document was 100% fraudulent.” Frank Alger, a senior officer for the Marine Corps League’s Department of Arizona, said the organization had concluded its own investigation into Zinnerman. “He has been expelled from the Marine Corps League,” Alger said. “This guy is a stolen valor guy.” Cmdr. Thomas Kelley with Maricopa’s American Legion post also confirmed an investigation into Zinnerman was elevated to the district commander, where his membership was terminated. When asked to defend himself against the claims of forgery, Zinnerman couldn’t offer an iota of evidence to support his own claims. He merely first referred reporters to friends who could “verify who I am and what I did.” He said he had a stroke days before that interview and was partially paralyzed. He later couched his self- defense, saying he was hopped up on prescription drugs while talking to reporters. Then, suddenly, he made an admission. “You know what, I did have that one [other than honorable] discharge. I know what they’re talking about in 1980,” Zinnerman said. “I do remember that now. I’m just having a hard time with my memory.”

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AMERICAN VETERANS Summer 2024

Summer 2024 AMERICAN VETERANS

/// PEOPLE

psychological conditions that someone is so hard up for attention, they have to go out of their way to make up lies about who they are.” Masche is active in veterans’ groups and understands their psychology. It made him uneasy when Wineberg didn’t ask about his military experience, but rather touted his own heroic stories. “People who have seen really bad stuff, they just don’t talk about it,” Masche told reporters. “When Stan talked about Somalia, all these pieces were starting to come together. I was figuring it out in my mind.” Masche once called out a phony war hero in Scottsdale just minutes after meeting him. This one took him a little longer than he liked to admit, but sooner or later, he figured it out.

“If he provided any of those documents, they would have been forged,” Fisher said. “That’s where we’d get him. On forgery charges, and maybe tampering with public records.” Fisher said he believes Wineberg is guilty of stolen valor. Attorneys agree. “It is a federal crime if he used ribbons or medals to obtain something of value,” says Chuck Pardue, a military law attorney in Evans, Ga. It’s also a separate felony charge in Arizona that could mean more than four years in prison. It’s unclear if a forged DD-214 exists for Wineberg. He joined a Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association chapter in Denver, where he wore a Purple Heart medal on his jacket. The nonprofit veterans’ charity requires discharge papers from its members.

Yet his Purple Heart vanity plates read “SF RNGR” — Special Forces Ranger. Earl Fisher, a detective at the Office of Inspector General in Phoenix, is also a proud veteran who served in the Vietnam War as a medical combat corpsman. For him, investigating stolen valor is personal. So, when the state opened its investigation into Wineberg, Fisher was the man for the job. “He’s a vet, but he’s not happy with what he has,” the detective said. “He wants more.” According to Fisher, Wineberg abused a loophole in the system. Had he gone into a Motor Vehicle Division office to request his plates, he would have been denied. But he used the MVD Now website to order them, which at the time would send the tags by mail and allow the driver to supply his DD-214 after the fact. Under Arizona law, he needed to prove he received a Purple Heart to obtain those plates. “Because of the glitch in the system, I couldn’t prosecute him,” Fisher said. “I brought it to MVD’s attention, so they’re fixing that flaw.” Instead, Fisher sent the letter demanding Wineberg turn in the plates or face criminal charges. The detective didn’t confirm whether he surrendered the plates and neighbors reported seeing them months later. When he received the letter, Wineberg called the inspector general’s office. “He was very distraught when he called me, probably because he thought I was going to arrest him,” Fisher recalled. “He said, ‘I made a mistake, I was in a bad place.’” For Fisher, Wineberg’s Somalia story reeked of falsehood. “I don’t know how that story can be true,” he said. As soon as a soldier is wounded, his unit would recommend the Purple Heart and it would be awarded immediately upon treatment. Wineberg never supplied a DD-214.

What else didn’t she know? Plenty — like his criminal record, bankruptcy, mounting back child support, tax fraud and IRS fines. And she hadn’t yet figured out those Purple Heart license plates were obtained fraudulently. Not until that letter from the Arizona Office of Inspector General came in the mail last fall. Mr. Stanley Wayne Wineberg Jr., The Office of Inspector General has discovered a discrepancy with your customer record. Our records indicate that on June 21, July 3 and July 20, 2023, you obtained Purple Heart License Plates and failed to provide the required documents. No response to this request will result in your license being further suspended or canceled, or other appropriate criminal charges being filed. Wineberg fronted as a sergeant first class in the Army with 15 years of service, a Green Beret in the Elite Special Forces with top secret security clearance. He earned his Purple Heart, telling anyone who would listen, when he suffered shrapnel wounds, saving his comrade “Eddie” in Somalia. Indeed, Wineberg is an Army veteran who was honorably discharged, earning 18 medals and badges along the way. And yet no detail in his story — not a single one — is true. He served fewer than seven years, according to military service records obtained from the National Personnel Records Center through a Freedom of Information Act request. Wineberg’s highest rank was E-5, two notches below what he claims. The records don’t mention Somalia. Although his awards suggest he saw combat, he was also a driver and mechanic. He never received a Purple Heart, the National Archives confirmed. He’s not credited with saving anyone’s life. He had standard security clearance, and he was never in the Special Forces.

“Something in my stomach just didn’t sit right in that situation, but I couldn’t quite figure it out,” Masche said. Then, he started replaying their conversations in his head. Something clicked. “Here I am thinking Stan was somebody who was involved in combat, in a disaster in Somalia,” he said. “In actuality, he wasn’t asking me about my service because he knew I would, in a short amount of time, realize this guy was full of shit.” When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Stolen Valor Act was a violation of the First Amendment in 2012, a revised version was signed by President Barrack Obama a year later. It narrowed the scope for prosecution to people who intend to profit or otherwise enjoy undeserved benefits that coveted service awards entail. “I think it was a bad call on the part of the Supreme Court,” American Military News journalist and stolen valor researcher

“We cannot meet your request without authorization from the former member,” the chapter said in response to inquiries about the matter. Wineberg did not respond to requests for comment. Bryan Masche was running a Republican bid for governor in 2022 when he met Wineberg at a speaking engagement in the Valley. The eight-year Air Force veteran still remembers touching Wineberg’s fake Purple Heart medal and thanking him for his service. It’s a memory that now disgusts him. “There’s nothing more disrespectful, hurtful, insensitive and plain disgusting in my book than stolen valor. It speaks to a deep- seated psychological personality disorder,” said Masche, who studied psychiatry in college. “It’s hurtful. It’s sleazy. It speaks to a number of different

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ARIZONA’S LEGACY OF STOLEN VALOR • Ex-publisher of The Arizona Republic Darrow “Duke” Tully was forced to resign in 1985 after it was revealed he lied about being a retired lieutenant colonel and combat fighter in Vietnam and Korea.

• John William Rodriguez of

• J.D. “Duke”

Network’s Hall of Shame. • In 2010, Queen Creek resident

and in the Arizona National Guard. He later used his bogus credentials to obtain pay raises and upgrade his benefits. A judge handed him five years of probation, 120 hours of community service and $28,000 in restitution. • In 2011, Jeffery Lee Bennett of Tucson,

Force general, was arrested for falsifying a military ID and slapping a fake U.S. Department of Defense sticker on his car to break into Fort Huachuca and do some tax- free shopping. He served prison time after pleading guilty in court.

military members in Tucson for cosplaying as a member of the 7th Special Forces Group, wearing a bogus Combat Infantry Badge and other fake awards to quench his thirst at local businesses that gave free drinks to uniformed service members.

• Arizona State

among many covert ops that

check-writing scam. • In 2016, fake Air

• Prescott resident John Hoyt Fullen

Heart certificate to obtain veteran license plates from the MVD and even got a tattoo of the Marine Corps insignia.

Schechter , an Arizona House representative

University ROTC student Matt Farberov busted a man in a fake Army uniform who, at the Arizona State Fair, claimed to be a member of the 7th Cavalry Regiment who was involved in the battle in the la Drang Valley, a Vietnam POW and best friends with former Secretary of State Colin Powell,

Scottsdale, who wore a uniform plastered with counterfeit military medals, was jailed in 2009 for faking prestigious honors to receive free housing, discounted airfare and leniency in a drunk driving case.

involved saving the U.S. from a nuclear attack and chasing ISIS in Arizona. • A Maricopa County Superior Court judge sentenced Philip Ohman , who never served in the military, to prison in 2016 after he lied about being a Navy SEAL to win over businessmen as part of a bad

was remanded to more than a

Force veteran and Tempe resident Eric Wolfe was arrested after he forged a DD-214 and used it to apply for special veteran status on his driver’s license and a veteran-only license plate.

Kurt Alan Bishop was indicted by a federal grand jury on 34 counts of falsifying his military records, awarding himself 21 medals including the Bronze Star and Purple Heart and defrauding his way into a job as a cop

from Tucson, was busted in 2010 for fabricating his military record and lying about being a Marine sergeant who was awarded a Silver Star. In reality, he was demoted twice for misconduct and inducted into the national POW

decade in prison after the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office proved he faked his military career in 2020. He ironically named his company Arizona Veteran Movers despite never enlisting in the military, forged a Purple

• In 2015, a

who dressed up as a two-star Air

nonveteran was called out by real

AMERICAN VETERANS Summer 2024

Summer 2024 AMERICAN VETERANS

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According to a letter from the IRS to Wineberg last year, the IRS “has no record of a processed tax return for 2020.” Hofmann, who hired Wineberg based on his resume — which was supplied to reporters and boasts the bogus Purple Heart medal — sympathetically loaned him $3,000. Weinberg never repaid the loan, telling Hofmann he was tending to his deceased father’s affairs in Florida. His father is alive today.

fabricated. And the university where he serves as dean? It doesn’t exist. And when it did, its credibility was cloudy at best. Although he announced he’d run for city council in August 2023, Willis pulled off the feat of gathering all 424 of his election signatures in just four days up to and including the April 1 deadline, according to nomination petitions he filed with the City of Maricopa. Never mind some of those signatures were from people who don’t live in the city, an analysis of the documents revealed. That included voters registered in places like Tucson. Willis said education is his top priority, as he was a career public schoolteacher, retiring from the Thornton Township High Schools District in Harvey, Ill., in 2021. He said he was qualified to teach when, in 1994, he obtained his master’s degree from Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. The school’s registrar, Arlene Clarke, said she “noted no record of this person as a graduate.” Willis said he went on to earn his doctor title, one he displays proudly on all his election documents, at Larry Love University in Muskogee, Okla., in 2018. He’s now the dean of theology at that university, he claims. The school’s entity status expired in 2016, according to the Oklahoma Secretary of State. The university’s most recent graduation ceremony was in 2020, its website states. When Willis graduated in 2018, VA Representation Including: • Higher Level Reviews (HLR) • Supplemental Claims (SCL) • Notices of Disagreement (NOD) • Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) • BVA Videoconference Hearings Know Your Rights and Don’t Take “No” for an Answer! VA Disability Claim Denied?

Cheryl Hinneburg told American Veterans Magazine . “Those who are guilty of stolen valor should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. It is a slap in the face to our military and veterans.” In 2019, Congress upped the federal prison sentence from six months to one year for violating the stolen valor law to curb such criminal acts. But just one year later, investigators at the National Archives reported stolen valor cases were on the rise. In a survey of 3,000 Arizona residents by American Veterans Magazine , more than 85% said the penalties are not strict enough. One in 10 respondents said the penalties were adequate while just 1 in 100 said they were too strict. Susan Buonsante is in the super-majority on that issue. Buonsante was married to Wineberg less than a year when she found out about his stolen valor. Not before he took her for $70,000, she said. “I had no idea the man I married was a con artist and a serial predator of women,” she said. “He fabricated nearly every detail of his life story.” Buonsante spent more than $55,000 on a parcel of land in unincorporated Pinal County under the auspice her new husband would obtain a VA-backed Veterans Home Loan to build a house there. It was only after closing on the land she learned he was not eligible for a VA loan. According to a divorce decree in Pinal County Superior Court, Buonsante was awarded the land “due to Wineberg engaging in fraud.” Wineberg has been married at least six times and has at least six children, none of whom he supports, according to government records. He married one woman four days after divorcing another — and owes at least $27,424 in back child support, according to official records from the Colorado Office of Economic Security supplied to reporters by two women. Caren Fluharty, the mother of one of his daughters, said he tried to dodge child support by claiming his sperm was genetically modified to only produce male children. He still owes her more than $8,000 in child support although his daughter is 21 years old. “Within a week, he moved in with me,” Fluharty said. “He rented a home in my name that was four times what I could afford. When I told him I was pregnant, he packed his shit and left, and I got evicted.” Fluharty estimates Wineberg took her for $19,655. They were never married, although court records show an El Paso County, Colo., judge issued a permanent restraining order against Wineberg in 2001. Another ex-girlfriend, Tina White, estimates she lost north of $71,000. White said Wineberg took out three vehicle loans in her name: $50,000 for a brand-new Chevy Silverado

CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE PLAYS DRESS UP AS AIR FORCE VETERAN

With aspirations as lofty as his title, Maj. Dr. Leon Willis wants Maricopa residents’ votes for city council when the polls open in July. Such a title conveys a remarkable aptitude for leadership. In fact, there are only 620 airmen in the entire country who can claim that title, according to U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Deana M. Heitzman. According to the university where Willis purportedly serves as dean of theology and earned his doctorate degree, he is a distinguished U.S. Air Force veteran. His academic journey, as depicted, is marked by scholarly achievements, including a master’s degree from a theological institution in Atlanta. But none of this is true, an American Veterans Magazine investigation reveals. His military service, like his master’s degree, is entirely

Willis wears his CAP uniform and tells people he's an Air Force veteran at a college graduation in Oklahoma.

and $21,000 for two brand-new Honda dirt bikes. He convinced her to borrow $400,000 for a home loan in his name but disappeared the week of closing, she said. “He put me in a very bad financial situation,” White said through tears. “He is very abusive towards women. He promised to pay back the money he owed me, but he never did.” It’s difficult to pinpoint the genesis of Wineberg’s financial woes. Judges in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico ordered him to pay restitution in seven civil lawsuits he lost between 1994 and 2016. He’s been evicted at least four times in Colorado and metro Phoenix. In 1998, on the same day he was discharged from the Army, Wineberg was charged with theft, computer crimes and possessing a forged instrument. A Denver District Court judge ordered him to pay his victims $13,329 in restitution and court fees after he pleaded guilty to the latter charge in a plea bargain and was sentenced to fines and probation. He violated his probation in 2004, court records show. A public records request for case documents did not reveal specifics about his crimes. IRS records show Wineberg didn’t file taxes for nearly a decade, racking up $21,738 in penalties. In 2019, he finally filed for bankruptcy. But his financial misdeeds continued, according to his former employer, Chris Hofmann. In 2020 and 2021, Wineberg filed W-2 Forms with the IRS naming Sioux Falls, S.D.-based TAK Communications as his employer. “He never worked at TAK,” said Hofmann. “Everything he did with us was 1099 [contract] work.” Hofmann supplied Wineberg’s 1099 forms and called the W-2 forms “fake.” He noted the employer identification number didn’t match the company and the company does not issue W-2s. Wineberg used those fishy W-2 forms to both file taxes and apply for mortgage loans.

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AMERICAN VETERANS Summer 2024

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