When I first met retired Colonel Charles Leavitt, I thought he looked like an actor with a similar first name, Charlton Heston, who was famous for his leading role in the movie, “Ben Hur”.
As I have gotten to know Chuck, I have discovered he is the real deal, not an actor.
Charles Leavitt enlisted in the U.S. Army on April 2, 1948. He served in the Army for a total of 38 years (10 active duty U.S. Army and 29 in the Army Reserves). At one time he was a drill instructor at Fort Dix in New Jersey. You can still see the qualities of an exemplary DI in Chuck. He is tough, demanding, a stickler for details, and a courageous take-charge kind of individual.
Chuck is now 82 years old and when others might be considering pulling the throttles back, he has just completed a vigorous six week resident training program —the Blind Rehabilitation Program — at American Lake Hospital just outside of Tacoma.
The program, designed for veterans by the Veterans Administration, included a challenging schedule and days filled with life skills, manual skills, physical exercises, computer classes, a private room, and meals Leavitt describes as on par with the finest restaurants.
Chuck partially lost his sight at 30 years of age due to a brain aneurism, however, this challenge didn’t keep him from driving cars and operating power boats, things he really enjoyed doing as part of an adventurous life on Whidbey Island.
When I met with Chuck recently, he was wearing a brown leather belt that looked to me like a set up that a police officer might wear on foot patrol in a tough urban area.
One pouch contained a high-tech magnifier; another an expanding cane; a third had an LED flashlight with white and red lens capability. His initials were tooled into the leather of one pouch in stylized lettering.
“I made this belt myself in the manual crafts leather program,” he said. Then he picked up an aluminum cane with a flip down retractor device for ice, snow, or muddy surfaces.
Next he described a gnarled cane made from special Wisconsin wood in the hospital workshop.
Chuck detailed the methodical and meticulous step-by-step training, starting with navigating the hospital grounds and culminating with practical tests of walking on busy streets and crossing busy intersections.
A message Chuck asked me to pass on is that the VA is restricted from promoting or actively marketing this program to veterans; but he, as a very satisfied recipient of this specialized training, wants to assure other veterans with similar needs they will be very well treated and given the most modern tools, devices, and skills to continue to live productive and fully involved lives.
Thank you, Col. Leavitt, for your lifetime of service to our country in the Army and for your courage and tenacity in completing this latest course in your quest for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
– Fred McCarthy
