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View a eulogy for John W. Lewis, USMA '89, who passed away on January 30, 2006.

John W. Lewis

West Point, 1989

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Adolphus Gwynn on February 2, 2006:

How...at 18...could an old man have inhabited the body of such a young man?

Fort Dix, New Jersey. 1984. That is the first time I saw John. He was one of the few Cadet Candidates that I remember seeming to never be flustered or panicked...about anything. We all ran around while drill sergeants told us how weak and worthless we were. And amidst the chaos, there was John.

At West Point prep, while most of us went out and caroused the Saturday nights away...clinging to our high school ways...John prepared for the coming week and the coming trials of being a semi-student and a semi-soldier. Many of us careened between the two, but firmly planted on the balance beam of adolesence and adulthood stood John. That is probably the reason why Captain Wayne Kniskern selected him as a Company Commander.

As a plebe, John understood, respected, and revered the tradition of West Point. He also understood that at the end of the hazing, New York Times recitation, and pinging - a man was a man. Perhaps that's why after an upper classmen went too far with hazing, John shut the door and let him know that unless he kept it professional, John would deal with him as he needed to be dealt with - no rank involved.

I fought John...once...as we prepared for Brigade boxing finals. In the year or so that I'd known John, I had never had any real arguments with John. After our sparring match, I was thankful for that fact.

In our junior year, we went on a club trip to Washington DC in anticipation of a Howard football game. As we stood outside of the White House. John offered me his remaining candy. I promptly took it and threw it over my shoulder. To which John responded, "What the...aw hell Trudy, he's drunk." And I was. So much so that I spent an hour throwing up in a bathroom right outside of the stadium. John cleaned me and the bathroom up. He stayed with me for the next 3 hours. We missed the game.

I was behind John's class at Ranger school...and after hearing that he'd been recycled at the Florida phase in December, he was the first man I sought out. I found him tightening his rucksack and yelled across the field our familiar greeting "What Ho???" He turned and had the John smile that was illuminating and not shared too often. We were Ranger buddies. We both sat on a drop zone in Florida in 20 degree weather and made a pact. I would not tell Trudy that he and I huddled/snuggled to keep warm if he wouldn't.

I spent 19 months in Germany stationed in Bamberg. John and Trudy were stationed in Baumholder. It was a 3 hour trip. I made it up just to see him and hear that infectious laugh and to give him a hard time.

John was many things and I want to be clear that he was no saint. He could swear like a sailor and hit like a battering ram. He could be hard headed, stubborn, and as obstinate as a donkey. He had an Infantryman's work ethic and persistence...but I was really surprised about how tender and supportive he could be. We used to joke, "Just because I say I love you...doesn't mean that I'm a weak punk!!!" But, I did love John.

John had his flaws and imperfections. And John had his strengths. The latter far outweighed the former. And if you knew John, really knew John, your respect - like mine - would grow a thousand fold. He overcame a lot in his life and set an example for me as to what you could be if you tried.

I will miss John and the smile and profanity and the essence of him. But I will see him again.

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