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to apply for scholarships — and next to the U.S. Veteran’s Scholarship is the Major Leon’ Willis Scholarship. It’s on this website where Willis is pictured, clad in what’s ostensibly a U.S. Air Force uniform, with a caption reading, “US Airforce Major Dr. Leon’ Willis.” Military records obtained from a public records request show no one with his name ever served in the Air Force. Willis admitted in an interview he never served in the military but refused to answer questions about why he identifies himself as a veteran on his college’s website. Willis was a longtime member of the Civil Air Patrol’s Cornelius Coffey Composite Squadron in South Holland, Ill., a volunteer service arm of the U.S. Air Force. The auxiliary awards rank titles mirroring the Air Force, explaining Willis’ title of major. CAP membership does not equate to membership in the military, however, according to the nonprofit humanitarian organization. “If you’ve only served in CAP, you are not a veteran,” David Hutcheson, spokesperson for the CAP in Danville, Va., told American Veterans Magazine . “They have asked us to never identify ourselves as Air Force.” At the Larry Love University commencement ceremony in 2019, Willis is pictured wearing the standard senior CAP getup — a three-button uniform in Air Force blues with a Company Grande service cap. To the layperson, the uniform is indistinguishable from those worn by military servicemembers. That’s why the rules around where and when CAP officers can display their uniforms are so stringent. When asked if it’s permissible to wear your CAP uniform to a college graduation, Hutcheson said: “That is forbidden.” “He cannot wear the uniform because it creates confusion that he was in the Air Force,” Hutcheson explained. “And believe me, he knows that. Our uniforms are very similar to the Air Force and our ranks are sometimes identical.” Cornelius Coffey Squadron Commander Capt. Levetta Parker would not answer questions about her former member. Although CAP members fly a variety of emergency and operational missions for the federal government including assisting the Air Force and Army National Guard, they aren’t even allowed to shop in basic exchange on an Air Force base. CAP is very protective of its integrity, Hutcheson said. The organization wants to know who’s misrepresenting themselves so they can act. “Anyone who does that is not playing straight, and we want to know who they are so they can straighten out their act,” he said. “You don’t borrow respect or steal it. You earn it.”
however, the university’s address was a vacant office building. That year, the building had been most recently occupied by several defunct outpatient medical facilities, according to brokers for the property. Larry Love University does offer doctoral degrees, according to a document listing its 38 certificate and degree programs. In the same document, the university also claims it will award graduate degrees for $11,700 to students who haven’t completed any credit hours or taken any courses if they have “prior learning experience.” Larry Love University was never accredited by an accepted accrediting agency, according to the U.S. Department of Education. In Willis’ native Illinois and 28 other states, the use of unaccredited degrees is not allowed. Arizona, however, has no such restriction. Calls and emails to Larry Love University didn’t go through. Its website contains mostly broken links, save for pages where you can make donations or payments. The application page is still functional, too, which allows students
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2024 VETERANS HALL OF FAME SOCIETY PATRIOTIC AWARDS LUNCHEON
1 Unified Arizona Veterans Chair Travis Burns presents Rep. Stacey Travers (D-Tempe) with the Copper Shield award. The shield is presented by UAV to a state legislator in recognition
5 Margy Bons accepted the Copper Eagle award on behalf of the organization she founded, Military Assistance Mission, for its exceptional service to the Arizona veterans' community. 6 Army veteran Abe McCann took home the Copper Star award recognizing the exceptional service of
An environment service technician for the VA, Flores is an Arizona native and Marine Corps veteran. Amanda McCauley, a physical therapist who specializes in amputee rehabilitation, won the same award representing the Northern Arizona VA Health Care System.
address. Mitchell earned the Navy Cross and two Purple Hearts in Iraq in 2004. 3 Copper Sword award winner Kelly Mills is welcomed ad the event. 4 Maximo Flores beams with pride after being honored as an outstanding employee at the Phoenix VA Health Care System.
a non-legislator public servant. McCann is the veteran services coordinator for the city of Tempe. 7 TriWest Healthcare Alliance, represented by executive Glen Gray, was also recognized for its service with the Copper Eagle Award.
of their defense of Arizona veterans.
2 Marine Corps veteran Robert J. Mitchell Jr. gave the keynote
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AMERICAN VETERANS Summer 2024
Summer 2024 AMERICAN VETERANS
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