Helping an Arizona Family Preserve a WWII Veteran’s Legacy
The Torpeys were missing their grandfather’s awarded medals — until Senator Kelly stepped in
In 1922, at the age of 11, Meyer Levin escaped with his mother from Ukraine during the Russian Revolution. He settled in Philadelphia and subsequently retired in Arizona to be near his family. Meyer served during the end of World War II from January 1945 to April 1946 as part of the 14th Armored Division. His daughter Naomi, son-in-law Mark, and grandson Peter Torpey heard stories their whole lives about Levin’s decorated military service. Peter was close to his grandfather and fondly remembers hearing his stories.
“I had a special bond with my grandfather. We would work on projects together and I just remember hearing the stories of his life, both about how he came to America, and also about his time in the Army. Unlike some soldiers who preferred not to talk about their experiences, he wanted to talk to anyone who would listen,” explained Peter.
Peter would highlight his grandfather’s time as a servicemember in many of his school projects growing up, taking time to interview him and record his anecdotes. One anecdote Peter remembers was when his grandfather told him about one harrowing morning when Meyer’s division was approaching the German border…
…They began to receive enemy fire and a shell landed just near my grandfather’s tank. The blast rolled the tank over and he became wedged inside. The four others scrambled for the hatch to escape. Upside down, the shells had slid out of the tubes onto his chest, trapping him in the darkness inside the tank. Meyer struggled to extricate himself, also being mindful not to apply too much force to the nose of the shells, lest they detonate. From outside the hatch, he heard his friend, the tank’s gunner, realize that he didn’t make it out.
“Levin! He’s still inside! Get Levin out! Get Levin out!”
Hands plunged through the hatch into the darkness grasping for Meyer and pulled him from the shells pinning him down and into the daylight. The five men ran off, dodging enemy fire, and huddled together to avoid being hit. They became covered in earth from the artillery blasts around them. In the distance, they saw the tank retriever approach their tank. The tank was intact. The men made a dash back to the tank amidst the explosions, and eventually made it back safely inside…
Documenting stories from his grandfather’s service became a treasured tradition for the entire family and an important way to preserve the family’s history.
In the process of documenting Meyer Levin’s story, Naomi, Mark and Peter realized they didn’t have some of the medals he had earned for his service. Naomi decided to enlist the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) for help receiving her father’s missing medals.
“I tried to apply for the missing medals on September 12th, 2019. My goal was to give them to Peter, our son, as a Christmas gift. I had no idea how long it would take, but initially, they did say something like six months, and they gave me a link that I could use to check on the status,” Naomi said.
The pandemic disrupted the NPRC and created a backlog, which meant Naomi no longer received the timely status updates at the link she was given. She and her husband, Mark, tried calling the agency to ask for updates, but weren’t able to get answers.
That is when Mark decided to contact Senator Kelly’s office to see how the Senator could help.
Naomi told our team that every time she would check on the status of her request for the missing medals, help seemed further and further away. What was supposed to take six months turned to nine, and then a full year.
“I filled out an online request form for assistance, received an immediate response, and [Senator Kelly’s team] opened up a case file. We were already in the month of December, and they knew that we had wanted the medals as a Christmas gift and they worked their magic,” said Mark about his experience reaching out to the office.
Our casework team reached out to the NPRC on the Torpey family’s behalf to push the family’s request along faster, helping guarantee they received the medals on time.
After a couple of years waiting for the medals, Naomi and Mark finally received them on Christmas Eve morning, 2021, just in time to gift them to their son, Peter.
“We were so thankful to Senator Kelly’s office and everybody else who was involved in making that dream come to fruition. It feels like a relief and kind of like a piece of the puzzle that has come back together to have these medals again. [My father]… escaped from Ukraine and was so thrilled to be an American and it was his honor to fight in World War II. It was important and it played an important part in making this a special Christmas. I thank the team for that,” said Naomi about receiving the medals.
When asked about what they would tell anyone who is on the fence about contacting our office for assistance, the Torpey Family said:
“When you run into some bureaucratic brick walls like we did, and you just can’t seem to get anywhere, just pick up the phone and ask your elected representatives, like Senator Kelly, to assist. It’s great to know that somebody is going to be there listening and seriously taking your interests at heart seriously and acting upon them to make sure that you’re satisfied.”
Senator Kelly’s office is here to help. For any Arizonan out there who needs assistance with a federal agency, please reach out to us by visiting www.kelly.senate.gov/casework.
