Son shares in Levitow's legacy at Charleston AFB
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CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. (USTCNS) --- John Levitow Jr., visited Charleston Air Force Base on March 13 to see the C-17 Globemaster III named for his late father, Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. John Levitow, and to share his father's legacy.
His father, who received the award in 1969 for his actions during the Vietnam War, died of cancer Nov. 8.
"I'm here to tell you what my father would," the younger Levitow said to a group of Charleston troops on board the aircraft. "I want to thank you for what you do and to let you know that I'm proud of you."
Levitow, a flight nurse based out of Charlotte, N.C., made the trip to Charleston with his fiancée, Lucy Banks, to continue the work his father had started on behalf of the military.
"On trips with my dad," he said, "I learned what my dad meant to the Air Force and what the Air Force meant to him."
Levitow said his dad wanted to make the Air Force a career but winning the medal made it difficult to stay in.
"He was no longer one of the guys and that made it hard for him to do his job," Levitow said.
At the C-17 dedication ceremony Jan. 23, 1998, the senior Levitow said he was "just lucky."
"Luck is all it is. I'm sure there are many people who have served, have done things that have been simply amazing and never been recognized," he said.
During his visit to Charleston, the son added, "We all have the opportunity for 10 minutes of fame, but it's what you do with your entire life that matters."
Levitow said a lot of people don't realize the good things his father did after that fateful day in Vietnam.
Before his death, Sergeant Levitow spent more than 20 years working for the Veterans Administration in his home state of Connecticut at both the state and federal level.
"My father helped to bring $10 million annually into the state on behalf of its veterans," Levitow said.
Levitow said initially he wasn't interested in following in his father's footsteps of addressing troops and talking about military issues, but a conversation at his father's funeral with retired Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Sam Parish changed his mind.
"Chief Parish told me 'whether you like it or not, you're a piece of Air Force history,'" Levitow said. "So I want today and tomorrow's Air Force to know who my father was, because he's gone and can't speak for himself anymore."
He said his father was honored that an aircraft was named after him, but was humbled by the thought because his dad didn't want the notoriety.
"He just wanted to do his job, be a loadmaster and protect his country," Levitow said.
Levitow and Banks spent the rest of the visit with airmen at the First Term Airman Center and Airman Leadership School students before heading home to Charlotte the following day.
Read the elder Levitow's award citation at http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/mohviet.htm and additional information at http://www.mishalov.com/Levitow.html
(FROM AIR MOBILITY COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS).
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