Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society inducts 15 at annual ceremony

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (left) inducts Nathaniel Leonard Carr (center), an Air Force veteran from Gilbert, into the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society at its annual ceremony in Scottsdale Nov. 1, 2024. [Monica D. Spencer]

SCOTTSDALE — The Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society inducted 15 outstanding local veterans into its organization Friday in an elegant ceremony at Talking Stick Resort.

It’s a prestigious invitation, but also a humbling experience, said Gilbert resident and U.S. Air Force veteran Nathaniel Leonard Carr, one of the veterans to obtain a coveted placard and medal this year.

Four of the inductions were posthumous.

“They told us in an earlier meeting we were one-tenth of one percent of the veterans in Arizona, so it is very humbling,” Carr told American Veterans Magazine. “One of my old friends from over a quarter-century ago came up and gave me a hug after [the ceremony], and I lost it for a moment. I feel very appreciative and grateful.”

Carr spent 27 years in the USAF as an electronics warfare officer, serving in Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom before retiring in 1994 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Carr in 2006 founded Carr International, a training outfit that provides counseling for veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder. An emphasis on helping veterans with emotional and spiritual development emerged when he helped his son, who returned from a tour in Iraq with PTSD, through such struggles.

“He would only talk to me because he knew I understood what he was going through,” Carr said. “We were able to collapse timelines and help him see himself for the higher person he is.”

Carr, whose father was a Tuskegee airman, helped found the Archer-Ragsdale Arizona Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., to recognize the achievements of the country’s first Black military aviators. He also established a related essay contest for students in the Mesa Unified School District to learn and write about these airmen.

Among other inductees were David Carroll Campbell, a U.S. Army veteran who operates a 12-step spiritual program for incarcerated veterans at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence, and Theresa Jane Walsh, an Army veteran from Sierra Vista who provides resources like rent, utilities and car payments for veterans in need.

“It was one of the smallest classes but the caliber of the inductees was astounding,” AVHOF President Pat Little-Upah told American Veterans Magazine. “Just reading the bios, they have done so much for veterans and their communities.”

Since 2001, more than 500 veterans have been inducted into the organization, recognizing them not only for distinguished military service but also for community contributions and achievements in Arizona. Such was the case with this year’s undersized, overpowered hall-of-fame class, inducted with help from Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.

“I thought it was an awesome event. It’s very rare for the governor to come to one of our events and put medallions on the inductees,” Little-Upah said. “It doesn’t matter your political affiliation. The governor of Arizona took time to recognize each individual, so that was an additional bonus.”

AVHOF’s first class of members included former Republican Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater and Ira Hayes, a participant in the famous flag raising on Iwo Jima, both of whom were inducted posthumously in 2001.

Photo gallery by Monica D. Spencer: