CHARLES A. LEVIS, COL, USAF
Charles Levis '56
Lucky Bag
From the 1956 Lucky Bag:
CHARLES ALLEN LEVIS
Brookline, Massachusetts
Graduating from Brookline High, Choo came to the Academy after a period of preparation at Bullis School. Since he had always been closely associated with football and its more vigorous aspects, he naturally made a name for himself on the gridiron at Navy. Perhaps he will be recalled even more readily for his good natured humor which would seldom succumb to the drudgery of daily routine. Choo also had an avid craving for sausage, especially the imported varieties, no doubt a legacy from his Danish ancestry.
CHARLES ALLEN LEVIS
Brookline, Massachusetts
Graduating from Brookline High, Choo came to the Academy after a period of preparation at Bullis School. Since he had always been closely associated with football and its more vigorous aspects, he naturally made a name for himself on the gridiron at Navy. Perhaps he will be recalled even more readily for his good natured humor which would seldom succumb to the drudgery of daily routine. Choo also had an avid craving for sausage, especially the imported varieties, no doubt a legacy from his Danish ancestry.
Loss
Charles was lost when the EB-66E aircraft he was aboard was shot down over North Vietnam on April 2, 1972. This shoot-down began a series of rescue attempts and continued losses of aircraft, part of which was featured in the movie Bat*21.
Obituary
From USNA '56:
Colonel Charles Allen “ Choo” Levis’ death occurred as a result of an EB-66C reconnaissance aircraft being shot down in South Vietnam. He was declared “killed in Action” on 11 September 1978, over six years after he was reported “missing in action” on 2 April 1972. Charley and his electronic warfare team (Code Name BAT 21) were assigned to the 42nd Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron. They performed all weather day/night recon and countermeasures work essential to the guidance of bombers over their targets. Previous career assignments involved Project River Amber, flying in RC-135E aircraft where Charley was meritoriously selected as EWO Chief of this highly important surveillance program. The RC-135E was equipped with the most powerful and sophisticated electronics gear that ever flew at that time. Earlier, after 3 years of flying in B-52 bombers, he received a very significant assignment as Defensive Systems Officer on the Mach 2 B-58 Hustler supersonic strategic bomber while stationed at Carswell AFB. This was followed by an assignment to SAC Headquarters and then to Korat AFB Thailand for EB-66 training.
After graduation Charley received his Navigator wings at Harlingen AFB in Texas and qualified as an Electronic Warfare Officer at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS where he was blessed to meet Louann Kilchenstein, whom he married in 1959.
Charley grew up in Medford, Mass. He carried his standout football skills on to the Academy where he was a member of the varsity football team playing in the 1955 Sugar Bowl 21-0 victory over Old Miss. Louann and Charlie have two children: Laurel L. (Levis) Harrison and Charles A. Levis II, and four grandchildren.
From researcher Kathy Franz: "Father Charles, a building department inspector, mother Margaret, sisters Muriel and Margaret and Joyce."
Related Articles
Henry Serex '55 was also lost aboard this aircraft.
Charles is one of 26 members of the Class of 1956 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
