Charlie Rangel was on his way to being another forlorn New Yorker born during the Depression and raised during WWII, dropping out of high school with two years to go. But Charlie from Lenox Ave. enlisted in the Army and survived combat in the Korean War, earning a Bronze Star and sergeants stripes, turning his life around.
Back home, he got his diploma, followed by college and law degrees and he rose to chair the most powerful committee in Congress. We sometimes agreed with Rangel and we sometimes fought with him and had to pull the Apollo Theater from him to save it, but Rangel served his city and nation well. Farewell, sir.
