Page 5 - 2015 Veterans

Leveritt turns military service into police career
By Kelsey Womack kwomack@ eldoradonews.com
Being an officer for the El Do- rado Police Department is a bit of a family tradition for Michael Leveritt. As captain, command- er of the Criminal Investigation Division and commander of the Bomb Squad, he has made his mark on the department, much like his father.
“My dad was assistant chief of police and chief of detectives, so I grew up with this department. I knew I wanted to be in law en- forcement, too,” he said.
Enlisting in the Army in 1989, he intended to serve four years in the military and then make his way to being an officer for the EPD.
Basic training and advanced individual training completed at Fort McClelland, Ala., he was part of the military police. He was sent to Fort Leavenworth, Kan. to the military prison.
“I was told that they only al- lowed sergeants, E5’s, to work at the prison, so more than likely I
would assume a role as a regular MP and do police officer stuff,” he said.
However, he soon found out that he was to become a guard for some of the most dangerous inmates at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks. When the first Gulf War started, he had orders to go to Germany, however, the orders were frozen and it afforded him the chance to go to Fort Riley and attend primary leadership devel- opment course.
“I changed my military job skill, it was 95 Bravo, which was mili- tary police and then there was 95 Charlie, which was corrections officer,” he explained.
After going to Fort McClelland and graduating with his new job skill, he went back to Leaven- worth in 1991.
“Being so young, I was 19, barely 20 and 21, dealing with inmates that were seasoned was difficult at first. These guys, some were senior NCOs in the military and it taught me that you have to keep your guard up and hone in on your people
skills because there were some pretty dangerous guys in there,” he said.
He explained that he worked in virtually every facet at the prison, from guard force to tower duty to maximum security. He noted that once during his career at the pris- on, there was a riot.
“I think I was off-guard force, probably working the mess halls, making sure that the Army cook and the inmates were getting along and doing inventory on all the cutlery. The riot actually started in one of the chow halls, I think I had just gotten off work or it was my day off. It took over a day to get things back under control, there was more or less a whole lot of property destroyed, I don’t think any guards were as- saulted,” he said.
Guarding a population of 1,500 inmates, Leveritt enjoyed his military career. “Our MOS, whether war or not, was the custody of those inmates. We would get con air fly into Kan- sas City International and we would have to set up security
and receive the inmates, pro- cess them, and I remember see- ing the terror in their eyes when they walkd in the gate and the big door slammed behind them. All the inmates were military, anybody that was sentenced to more than three years or any officer was sent there and there were quite a few high-profile in- mates,” he said.
In 1993, Leveritt was discharged from the military and made his way back to El Dorado to become an officer for the EPD.
“I had a good military career, but I have had an awesome law enforcement career. I have got- ten to do things that I would have never had the opportunity to do in the military. It’s not about the money — we do this for our personal convictions and satis- faction and looking out for those who can’t help themselves. It’s a profession, not a job. Not every- body can do this and it’s a calling. Somebody has to do it, so why not us? You won’t find a tighter group of people, we are a family. I grew up with this department in
my family my whole life, so this wasn’t a big transition for me,” he said.
When he’s not at the EPD, Le- veritt enjoys staying around his house doing yard work and just trying to have a normal life. “I like to hunt and fish and enjoy my vacations at the beach. I have two children, a son and a little girl,” he said.
He noted that his son, a senior in high school, has aspirations to follow in his father’s steps and join the military, but Lever- itt explained that the mindset of military personnel has changed through the years.
“There is a big difference be- tween the 80s and 90s and the guys coming in now. It was changing when I was coming out, they were starting to of- fer early outs and we have had several conflicts between now and then, but I think the great- est generation that served in the military are the WWII vets. Right after that, you had the guys in Korea, which were my dad’s era.”
Travels brought many people in Harbour's life
By Joan Hershberger jhershberger@ eldoradonews.com
A military career brought important people to Roy Harbour’s life, including his wife Shizuko.
Harbour signed up for the National Guard in 1953, jumped to the Army Re- serves in Shreveport, La., and then enlisted in the Air Force in 1955. In 1956 he went to Itazuke AFB, Japan to be an administrative as- sistant.
“I arrived in Japan July 1956 and married Shizuko in January 1957,” he said. His daughters were born in 1958 and 1959. He re- turned to the states with his wife and young daugh- ters in 1960. A small foreign made English Ford came with them to take them home to Arkansas. A stuck brake cylinder stranded them in Gallop, N.M. Har- bour bought bus tickets. and prepared to board the bus. A guy he met offered to help him load all their bags. That was one person Harbour wished he had not met. The guy picked Har- bour’s pockets, stealing his traveler’s checks. The Har- bours did not find the re- ceipts to make a claim for 27 years. When he found the receipts, he checked with the company: The thief had never cashed the checks. The company hon- ored the receipts.
From the beginning of his career Harbour served in adminstration. During his time with the 35th Fighter bomber Squadron Opera- tions Building in Japan, he tracked the record of the pilots’ flights and mainte- nance needs.
Some of the pilots became generals — one became the astronaut who pushed the button on the fated flight of Apollo 13.
During his assignment in Portland Air Defense Sec- tor in Oregon, Harbour sat in the commander’s office answering the phone and shook hands with Barry Goldwater, a World War II buddy of the commander.
Harbour’s assignment to Oregon was cut short when his wife was diag- nosed with TB (tuberculo- sis). Within the hour of her
diagnosis she was taken to the hospital where she stayed for 10 months.
Harbour was given a hu- manitarian re-assignment to Texarkana Air Force Base. The children went to live with their Grand- mother Harbour in El Do- rado and Harbour drove over to see them every Fri- day.
After her release from the hospital, “She took 25 pills per day for three years. And the rest of the family was continually tested for TB,” he said.
From Texarkana, Harbour was assigned to Ethiopia at the time Idi Amin was there. Harbour did not like the looks of the assignment. He did some research and found a regulation that anyone in a mixed mar- riage could not be assigned to Ethiopia. Instead he was assigned to the Cheyenne Mountain near Colorado Springs – literally a base carved inside the mountain with eight buildings.
“At the time they were working on the third build- ing for NORAD. We had a warrant officer who insist- ed that his troops were spe- cialized, so we had special boots and a helmet insig- nia. He wanted us to look sharp. I lived on base. My
son was born there at Colo- rado Springs.”
With no parking at the mountain base, the family had to ride the bus up and down the mountain.
In 1966-69, Harbour was assigned back to the same Air Force Base in Japan. “We had three years and eight months there. I was the base suggestion pro- gram administrator. I took in suggestions, gave them to who ever needed to fix a part or address an issue and they would send a re- port back to us, and I deter- mined a dollar amount.”
During Harbour’s second tour in Japan, he helped start a skeet shoot club in Tachikawai and set up competitions.
At one point the club needed more gun powder
and found some a airplane flight away. To transport it back with them, the men wrapped it like a lamp in a box. They took turns sitting with their feet on the lamp box (to stabilize it) through the flight home.
Barry Goldwater also played a role in Harbour’s life during his year-long tour in Vietnam beginning in January 1971.
“I could make satellite radio calls that went to Barry Goldwater’s house. He would call up my fam- ily and connect the calls.” During his Vietnam tour, his family lived in El Dorado near Harbour’s mother.
“In Vietnam I was a car- rier. I got into the intelli- gence part. I took care of all the forms and regulations
needs. I was already a tech sergeant so now I was a supervisor. I took messag- es out in the jungle to the commanders of the troops. It was very top secret. I had to have it chained to my wrist.”
A lieutenant went with him one time to check on a village on the way back. “The villagers came walk- ing down the dirt road. The lieutenant said, ‘This does not look right to me. We do not need to go in there.”
The chief of the town came to their vehicle and pulled on Harbour’s watch.
“The kids were always doing that, pulling on the watch. They wanted it,” Harbour recalled.
The lieutenant declared, “I think we need to go.” They left without their re- port on the village.
Harbour did meet up with a buddy in Danang, the northern most Air Force Base. He also flew up to Camrahn Bah.
At his base in Benwah, he lived with the reality of falling mortars. “They tried to hit the bunkers. We had maids who did the laundry and polished our shoes. They would ask where the base had been hit and then sell the information to the enemy to help them ad- just their shooting. They got the post office and the
motor pool but they did not get the air planes,” he laughed.
Throughout his 20-year career with the Air Force, Harbour said, “I always put in for Barksdale AFB and the Little Rock AFB and I never got it. They sent me to Illinois to a technical school and to Michigan where I had my highest rank.”
Near the end of his career, Harbour was assessed and asked to be an inspector guard with SAC. He turned it down and “They still as- signed me to SAC and put me on the security team. I stayed a year and figured I could do better getting out. You can not save (money) in the military, not with all the moves.”
He retired after 20 years with the Air Force and re- turned to El Dorado. He studied air conditioning, bought his brother’s laun- dromat in Paris and added an air conditioning busi- ness. Shizuko Harbour ran the laundromat; Roy Har- bour did maintenance and air conditioning for eight years.
He sold both businesses and returned to El Dorado. He worked with General Dynamics in Camden until he had an accident with se- vere injuries, which led to his retirement.
In memory of those who served....
In honor
of those who serve now.
• RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL
512 West Hillsboro - 870-862-5901 • 1-800-453-6650
www.glennmechanical.com
Thank you, Veterans!
REDI-MIXED CONCRETE COMPANY
0717
El Dorado NEWS-TIMES – Wednesday, November 11, 2015 – 5C
To All American Warriors,
Thank you!
Life Touch Hospice and Operation Appreciation gratefully acknowledges all who have answered the call to serve.
If you would like more information on Operation Appreciation and its service to our veterans, or if you are military, past or present,
and want to become a volunteer for this program, call: 866-378-0388.
0737
We support all Veterans and their families.
We support all Veterans and their families.
Thank you for your sacrifices.
Thank you for your sacrifices.
• Obstetrics - Normal & High Risk • Birth Control
• Menopausal Disorders
• Bone Density Screenings
• Mammograms
• Cervical Cancer Screenings
• Dysport, Restylane & Perlane • Gynecological Exams
South Arkansas
Women’s Clinic & Mammography Center
Dr. John Ratcliff Dr. Donya Watson Dr. Greg Booker
706 W. Grove St. • 870-863-8444 • El Dorado, AR
0763
0759
135141
Remembrance