Like so many members of his great generation, World War II veteran Charlie Demos Sr. served his country with enormous pride.

He was a member of the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General Corps at the outset of a legal career that spanned six decades, much of that time in Florida, before his 2010 retirement. He resettled in Nevada, where he eventually took up residence at the State Veterans Home in bucolic Boulder City.

Even in retirement, Demos remained active as a bon vivant and two-term resident president at the veterans home, delivering a spirited keynote speech to the group in May 2013. A mind sharpened by so many years of practicing law remained bright. He loved playing chess and talking politics.

And, his family would tell you, he loved to be called Charlie. It suited his sunny, outgoing personality.

“When Charlie walked into the room, those in his company felt energy, an enthusiastic spontaneity,” a Demos family remember recalled. “... Charlie was a clever and gregarious person who always sought out the finest attributes in other people. It was as if Charlie wanted to share all of their experiences, revel in their lives and celebrate their discoveries."

Although it’s always jarring when a truly spirited person goes silent, his death in April 2015 wasn’t really a surprise. He was 88 and battled medical maladies. His family grieved but celebrated the remarkable life of the Greek kid from New Jersey who lived most of a century.

It was only after his death that the family discovered that legionella bacterium, which causes Legionnaires’ disease, was present in the veterans home’s water system and that Charlie had tested positive.

It was the first time the Boulder City home, which enjoys a top rating, had tested positive for legionella. Outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease, however, have plagued VA hospitals and facilities across the country. The disease, which causes pneumonia-like symptoms and is particularly harmful to the elderly and medically fragile, has killed veterans in Illinois, Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Elected officials in nearly every jurisdiction afflicted have accused VA officials of being slow to act and even covering up the presence of the disease at hospitals and other care facilities.

There was no evidence of a widespread outbreak, and a top official at the home fiercely defended the facility. But the Demos family sued, and the lawsuit was important even if the Boulder City facility wasn’t yet considered an egregious offender.

With thousands of veterans moving to Nevada each year to work and retire, VA facilities at both ends of the state are only going to experience greater stress in the coming years. Given that reality, the Demos death provided an opportunity to improve the system. That’s how i perceived it early 2016 when I began asking questions about the Demos case.

Democratic Congresswoman Dina Titus, long a veterans advocate in the House, raised the issue publicly. The death of Charlie Demos would either provide a learning opportunity for Nevada’s VA system, or -- as one of former Rep. Joe Heck’s staffers perceived it -- be written off as politics. Of course, politics didn’t prevent Heck from posing for pictures with proud veteran Charlie Demos.

Thankfully, the state Board of Examiners also appears to be taking it seriously. According to its agenda, the board on Tuesday is scheduled to consider a $750,000 settlement with the Estate of Charles Demos, et al.

Given Demos’ advanced age, some may consider that figure excessive. Others will think of the aging veterans in their own families and want to double down on any lesson that improves the system and protects those who have served.

In that light, proud veteran Charlie Demos continues to serve his country in spirit. And that idea surely would have made him mighty proud.

 

John L. Smith is a longtime Las Vegas journalist and author. Contact him at [email protected]. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith.