A picture of Levi in 1929, right after he joined the US Navy. He was only 15 years old.
My Great Great Uncle Levi Claggett was in the US Navy from 1929 to 1949. During World War II he was on the USS North Carolina through most of the major Pacific battles including Guadal Canal, and then he transferred to an aircraft carrier towards the end of the war. Levi was a plank owner on the USS North Carolina and the USS Stack (which was a destroyer ship). Levi was a really nice guy, and he even gave me one of his WWII medals, which I still have, and it was always cool to talk to him about his experiences. He was stationed at and lived in China for a number of years back in the 1930s. He had been a boxer for a number of years in the Navy as well, and had represented his ship against other ships in the fleet boxing matches. He had his nose broken a couple of times over the years. Before joining the Navy, he boxed as a teenager at a local arena in Newark, Ohio for like $5 to $15 dollars a bout for spending money. He originally ran away and joined the Navy when he was only 15 years old, and became a career Navy man who ran the engine rooms in those big ships. When the Korean War started in the 1950s, Levi helped train people for the Navy for three additional years. Levi passed away on March 29, 1994, and he was burried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Levi was a great guy, and that is why I decided to dedicate this web page to him.
Levi and me on 12-24-1990.
Full size image of the above picture, which includes my cousin Joe, my Grandpa Don C, Levi, and me on 12-24-1990.
Uncle Levi and my Great Grandma Hazel C in 1988.
Levi in 1992.
One of Levi's World War II Medals.
An artist's rendering of the USS Stack, which was a Destroyer that Levi was on at one point during the World War II era. Levi bought this picture when he was in Rio de Janeiro in the 1940s, and the shiny parts are actually made from butterfly wings. After the war, the USS Stack was decommissioned on August 28, 1946, and it was used for target practice off Kwajalein and sunk on April 24, 1948.
Here's another piece of art that Levi bought in Rio de Janeiro in the 1940s. Most likely made by the same artist that made the above picture of the USS Stack, and like the previous picture, the shiny parts are actually made from butterfly wings.
Levi's gravestone in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
Levi's wife's grave marker, which is listed on the back of his gravestone. She was cremated and her ashes were burried on the same site where Levi was burried in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.
