On Monday, May 21st, the City of Everett and Veterans Services Commission Jeanne Cristiano dedicated the corner of Elm Street and Winthrop Road in honor of Harvey Lever, an Everett resident and Veteran.
Among those in attendance at the ceremony were members of the City Council, as well as several Lever family members and friends.
Harvey Lever was a lifelong Everett Resident and was born on January 31, 1951. He attended the Devens School, the Lincoln School, the Parlin School and graduated from Everett High School in June of 1969
Immediately after receiving his high school diploma at the age of 18, Lever enlisted in the US Air Force on August 18, 1969 to serve his country in the Vietnam War.
As a young airman, it was immediately apparent that this proud son of Everett was a natural leader as his Air Force superiors promoted him in rank four times and upon receiving his Honorable Discharge on August 17, 1973, he held the rank of Sergeant or E-5.
Following his discharge, Sgt. Lever felt the urge to return to active military duty almost immediately, a year later he then enlisted in the US Navy and served with honor and distinction for an additional four years and received an Honorable Discharge from the US Navy in 1979.
During his 4 years in the Air Force, Sergeant Lever was deployed to Vietnam for roughly a year and served in imminent danger zones throughout his tour of duty. On this yearlong deployment, Sgt. Lever was exposed to a highly toxic chemical over and over. The highly toxic chemical was Agent Orange, the occasion was the war in Vietnam, the time was 1969, and the country was South Vietnam.
Some 46 years later, after battling a multitude of diseases and illnesses for far too many years to count as a result of his severe exposure to this super weed killer, Harvey Lever passed away on May 23, 2016.
Sgt. Lever is the recipient of the Navy Good Conduct Medal and during his service in the Air Force he was the recipient of the Vietnam Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Air Force Commendation Medal.