Frieda Levinsky, a 70-something La Jollan, bought a Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial plaque for Medal of Honor recipient John Lee Levitow. Neither knew one another, but
Levinsky said she felt a kinship to the Jewish-American airman and decided to honor the contrast he portrayed to her “” no person in her Jewish-American family ever served in the military, she said.
“I didn’t know him but I read about him,” Levinsky said. “And after reading, I was so impressed that I decided to honor this great hero that served in the Vietnam War that saved his buddies.”
Levinsky was not alone. The Vietnam War-era Air Force sergeant, who died Nov. 17, 2000 at age 55, was buried with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. But before his death, both civilian groups and the military honored the Medal of Honor recipient.
“It inspired me,” Levinsky said. “Not only did he obtain the highest honor but he’s also Jewish-American, a tiny minority. He honored America and the Jewish people.”
About a year ago or so, Levinsky said she began the process of purchasing an 8-by-12-inch plaque atop Mount Soledad to honor Levitow.
“It took quite a while because one has to go through a process with the association,” Levinsky said.
The Air Force cited Levitow”” an AC-47 gunship loadmaster “” for valor while on a Feb. 24, 1960 mission where “the aircraft sustained more than 3,500 fragment holes in the fuselage and a 2-foot-wide hole in the right wing,” according to reports.
The heroic act Levitow performed occurred after he reportedly sustained more than 40 shrapnel wounds in his back and legs. Levitow threw himself onto a smoking flare, dragging it to an open cargo door. He tossed the flare outside the aircraft, as the crew watched it ignite.
“What I did was a conditioned response,” Levitow said in 1998, according to the Air Force Print News. “I just did it. The next thing I remembered was seeing the landing strip.”
His act that night was described as heroic and was said to have saved the lives of seven men in addition to his own.
Levitow worked closely with Veterans Affairs and the military, especially in Connecticut where he developed and designed veterans programs.
Levitow was the lowest ranking airman to earn the Medal of Honor.
The Air Force created the Levitow Honor Graduate Award, which it presents to the top “professional military education graduate from Air Force Airman Leadership Schools,” according to the Air Force Print News.
The Air Force named the 737th Training Group Headquarters building after Levitow at Lackland Air Force Base. And Air Mobility Command named a C-17 Globemaster III “The Spirit of Sgt. John L. Levitow,” the first after an enlisted person.
The Hurlburt FieldWalk of Fame in Florida, which honors Medal of Honor recipients, included Levitow in 1998.
Now, thanks to Levinsky, Levitow is honored on Mount Soledad at the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial. His plaque reads: JOHN LEE LEVITOW, STAFF SERGEANT, U.S. AIR FORCE, VIETNAM
“As loadmaster on an AC-47 gunship on a mission near Long Binh Army Post, on the night of February 24, 1969 John’s aircraft was hit by enemy ground fire which penetrated the plane’s skin wounding half the crew and causing the aircraft to go out of control. As the AC-47 was buffeted about, it released and activated an aerial flare within the airplane. Though badly and painfully wounded, he dragged himself forward, fell on the smoking flare and then hurled it from the aircraft just before it ignited. His quick and decisive action at the risk of his own life saved the airplane and the lives of his comrades.”
For information about the Mount Soledad Memorial Association, visit www.soledadmemorial.com.