Staying Fit
When he met the injured helicopter pilot in 2004, Bob Levine already had been through enough experiences for several lifetimes. He had been a successful businessman and a military veteran, but the fact that he was around at all involved more than a little luck.
Levine was injured badly in France in World War II, taken prisoner and had his lower leg amputated by a German military doctor. That doctor may have saved his life twice: First with the surgery, and again, Levine believes, by removing the dog tags that would have revealed Levine is Jewish.
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On that day 17 years ago, Levine was visiting the pilot as part of a program that put together older injured veterans with ones who were recovering at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. He struck up a conversation with the pilot, who had lost both legs and the partial use of her right arm after her helicopter was shot down in Iraq. They talked about the challenges they faced, especially the life adjustments new amputees face.
That helicopter pilot was U.S. Army Capt. Tammy Duckworth, a member of the Illinois National Guard. What Levine could not have known at the time was that he was talking to a future U.S. senator.
After a year of recovery at Walter Reed, Duckworth became director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, then a U.S. assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs and then a congresswoman, and now is a senator from Illinois. She remained in the reserves until 2014, retiring at the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Levine followed her career along the way, admiring her accomplishments.
"It's just an incredible story,” he said. “Here's a double amputee, and she went through this hell, and then she goes and gets involved in politics, and her work ethic is above and beyond belief."
A wish granted
Levine is 96 now and a recent survivor of COVID-19. With the help of the AARP-affiliated Wish of a Lifetime Foundation, he recently had a wish of his fulfilled: another chance to talk to Duckworth one-on-one.
"It really was an experience to talk to her and have contact with the senator,” Levine said. “When you talk about a wish of a lifetime, that's what it was ... she's a very special person."
The call was private, but Duckworth's office released a statement afterward. “It was a pleasure to reconnect with Mr. Levine today and I was honored to be chosen to be part of the Wish of a Lifetime program,” the senator said in the statement. “I truly appreciate Mr. Levine's service to our nation and it was so moving to learn more about his life and experiences."
"My big concern was the voting problem here in the country and what's happening with people not being able to vote, so we talked about that, and about families,” Levine said of the conversation. “It was wonderful. It was just a great 20 minutes together."
