LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Leo Lewis is glad that his army jacket still fits.
When Rocky Mountain PBS visited the 102-year-old Lewis in his Lakewood home, the former master sergeant sat on a recliner with a blanket on his lap, proudly pointing at the stripes on his left arm.
“I had a lot of fun with these guys,” Lewis said, flipping through a photo album of his time spent overseas. He said that when you’ve been out of the military as long as he has, “it’s difficult to remember so many of the names of the guys that served under you.”
Colorado Voices
Leo Lewis, 102-year-old World War II veteran
Lewis was born on June 9, 1920 in the small town of Butte, Nebraska. One of six children, he experienced tragedy at a young age — when he was 12 years old, his mother died in a house fire and Lewis was subsequently put in foster care.
After graduating from high school in Alliance, Nebraska, Lewis earned a football scholarship at the University of Nebraska. But in the winter of his sophomore year, on Dec. 20, 1941, Leo enlisted in the Army Air Corps as a private.
Lewis worked his way up the ranks and on July 15, 1942, he was deployed.
“And nobody would tell us where that assignment was,” Lewis recalled. Two weeks later, Lewis and his group arrived in Karachi, India. This was before Pakistan gained its independence from British India.
Lewis was a field director for the China-Burma-India Air Service Command. Two of his brothers also served during World War II, one in the Army and another in the Navy.
“I actually enjoyed serving my country in 1941,” Lewis said. “Things were a little bit different then, but we have a good Air Force.”
After the war, Lewis returned to Nebraska and got married. He then moved to Colorado to attend the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he played football once again.
Lewis had two children and started a business selling and repairing televisions in Denver, but once televisions no longer relied on vacuum tubes for operation, Lewis closed the business and transitioned to construction, where he had great success. His current home in Lakewood is one that he built.
Today, Lewis has four grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. One of his granddaughters, Dawnette, told Rocky Mountain PBS that Lewis “set a great example of working hard to get the things you want, and most importantly be grateful for your family and country.”
As for the next generation of service men and women, Lewis’ advice is simple. “When you join the service, concentrate on your basic training and you'll be happy that you did, because you'll be able to advance your rank in the military if you do that.”
More than 16 million Americans served in World War II. Today, fewer than 170,000 are still alive. And according to the National World War II Museum, close to 200 World War II veterans pass away each day.
This is why for Lewis, it’s important that he remembers his time overseas and that he shares stories with his family. Looking through his photo albums, Lewis said, “sometimes, I don’t really comprehend how far back that really was.”
Kyle Cooke is the digital media manager at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach him at kylecooke@rmpbs.org.
