Louisiana Cattle Festival Welcomes

Charlie Deleo

“Keeper of the Flame”

The Louisiana Cattle Festival is proud to welcome Charlie Deleo, a decorated Marine War Veteran, including a Purple Heart for a shrapnel wound he received during a mortar attack on his unit during the War in Vietnam.  Mr. Deleo is a very unique individual, according to Francis Plaisance, festival president, and it is an honor and privilege to have him join this year’s celebration, speak at our banquet, and also lead the veterans in the grand parade.  "My wife Vana located him, sent him a copy of Ben Reed’s book, 'My Dying Breath', which she edited, and he accepted the invitation to join us for the festival," Plaisance said. 

Charlie Deleo is unique because for 27 years, he climbed the girders through the upraised arm of the Statue of Liberty to the torch more than 2,500 times.  His job was to change the Lady Liberty’s 750 light bulbs, so that the torch on our “Symbol of Freedom” could remain lit.  He also, hanging by a safety strap, polished the golden flame of Miss Liberty some 300 feet above New York Bay.  Mr. Deleo has been called the “Keeper of the Flame”.  His love affair with the Statue of Liberty began when he was 9 years old, when his fourth grade class from Public School on the lower East Side made a trip to Ellis Island in 1957.  He returned in 1968 as a decorated Marine Veteran and remembers muttering under his breath as he stood before the Lady Liberty, “Man I’d give my right arm to get up to that torch one time”.  “Little did I know God would hear my prayer, and that four years later, I would become the keeper of the flame.” 

Charlie Deleo has been featured in countless stories in newspapers and on television about his work,  including a CBS Special, and Good Morning America, and has spoken across the country.  Mr. Deleo, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, is now retired from the National Park Service, but continues to work for free at Ellis Island.  He is excited about coming to South Louisiana and has also agreed to be available for a school appearance.  Mr. Deleo will lead the Veterans in the Grand Parade dedicated to the Korean War Veterans, as well as all other veterans, with a special tribute to the 256 Infantry Brigade, to be presented in front of the reviewing stand.