Combat survivor encourages family to honor those who serve

Sgt. John Lewis, United States Army

John Lewis  found that his military service marked him in more ways than one.

“It never leaves you,” said Lewis, who served in Vietnam in the Army’s Third Brigade of the Fourth Infantry Division. “Any poignant experience, whether in military or civilian life, will probably be branded in your brain but particularly the combat experience. It’s permanent.”

For Lewis, military service became the barometer by which he measured all other challenges.

“It serves as a reference point,” he said. “Compared to what you saw and experienced there, everything else has got to be an improvement throughout your life.”

May 17, 1967 remains the most profound date in his mind. Following injury, Lewis was en route to receive medical care when rocket-propelled grenades began penetrating the armored personnel carrier transporting he and nine others. Four died instantly. As Lewis, now having sustained additional shrapnel injuries, started to climb out of the hatch, ammunition crates fell on his legs, trapping him.

“For a moment, I thought I was done,” he said. “The ammunition had me pinned down, it was starting to burn, and – just for an instant – I accepted the fact that this is where they will find my remains. The one person I thought about in that moment was my mother.”

With a spirit of humbleness and humility, Lewis acknowledges that he left the warzone with more questions than answers.

“Why I was allowed to live will always be one of life’s mysteries,” he said. “I have always known that I was no more deserving than anyone else with whom I served. Someday, I hope God will help me understand the ‘why’ of it all.”

In the meantime, Lewis is doing his part to shape the mindset of the youngest among his brood.

“I want my grandsons to know it’s honorable to serve your country,” he said. During a recent family outing, Lewis emphasized the point by telling his two oldest grandchildren to salute two soldiers who were eating lunch nearby.

“When the soldiers walked by, Will (age 7) and Josh (age 5) saluted them,” said Lewis. “One of them was a general and they both just lit up.” Pleasantly surprised by the boys’ gesture, the soldiers saluted back.