This week's hero is...
John Levitow
John Levitow was born on November 1, 1945 in Hartford, Connecticut. He enlisted in the United States Air Force in June of 1966. He eventually rose to the rank of Sergeant and took a job as a loadmaster for aircraft. His job was to load equipment (ammunition and medical supplies) onto transport aircraft. However, his job could never have prepared him for what happened on February 24, 1969.
That day, Sergeant Levitow was assigned to be the loadmaster on an AC-47 "Spooky" gunship. The Spooky's purpose was to provide close air support for soldiers on the ground and to locate enemy positions. It was armed with numerous machine guns and magnesium flares. Sgt. Levitow's job was to remove the flares (which were stored in canisters weighing 27 pounds) from the rack and set their controls. He would then pass the flares to a gunner who would then pull the pins before throwing them out the cargo door. The flares would then ignite in midair around 20 seconds later.
Levitow was assigned to Spooky 71. Late at night the crew of Spooky 71 received word that an American army base at Long Binh had come under attack by the Viet Cong and was calling for support. Spooky 71 and a number of other gunships immediately took off and headed for the base. About an hour later they arrived on the scene and began their attack runs. For the next few hours they dropped flares to illuminate enemy positions before strafing them with their guns.
Nearly five hours into their mission, disaster struck. An enemy mortar struck Spooky 71's right wing. The explosion from the round tore a three foot hole in the wing and sprayed the hull of the aircraft with shrapnel (mechanics would later count more than 3,500 holes in the aircraft). Levitow and the rest of the crew were setting up a flare to be dropped when the mortar hit. The blast from the mortar sprayed the whole crew with shrapnel from head to foot (Levitow had sustained more than 40 shrapnel wounds).
When Levitow came to, he began smell smoke. He then noticed (to his horror) that one of the crew had accidentally pulled the pin on the flare when the mortar hit. Now the smoking canister was rolling around in the aircraft among thousands of rounds of ammunition. If the flare ignited it would detonate the ammunition and destroy Spooky 71. As if that wasn't enough, the smoke from the flare was filling the whole aircraft, blinding the pilots, and causing it to plummet from the sky.
Nearly blinded by the smoke and losing blood at a very fast rate, Levitow knew he had to act quickly. He felt his way through the smoke and reached for the burning flare. He found it and quickly threw himself onto it. He then hugged it to his body and stumbled toward the open cargo door at the rear of Spooky 71 (leaving a long blood trail in the process). He then heaved the flare out the door where it ignited just 2 seconds later completely clear of the plane. Levitow then passed out from blood loss (he lost feeling in his limbs as a result).
Thanks to Sgt. Levitow's actions, the whole crew of Spooky 71 was saved. The pilots were able to regain control of the aircraft and successfully returned to base. Despite his severe wounds, John Levitow survived. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor on May 14, 1970. He was the lowest ranking and only enlisted man in the Air Force to ever receive the honor. He also received the Purple Heart Medal. He received an honorable discharge and returned to Connecticut where he worked with fellow veterans. He died of cancer on November 8, 2000 at the age of 55.
The heroism of John Levitow was truly amazing. Despite being severely wounded to the point where he nearly lost his life he put the lives of his comrades before his own. He found the strength to save his crew and aircraft from being killed while suffering from terrible wounds. He is definitely someone who should be held in high regard.
http://www.afhistoryandmuseums.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Article/720006/a1c-john-l-levitow/
https://amcmuseum.org/history/airman-first-class-john-l-levitow/
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/24/nyregion/john-levitow-55-airman-honored-for-bravery-dies.html
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