John W. Lewis

West Point, 1989

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by John Calahan on February 15, 2006:

I was stunned when I opened Dave Oksenbergs email telling me of the tragic loss John. While we managed to drift apart as friends often do, my thought seem to always drift back to Korea and 1/503 Infantry. John and I served on the staff together with Dave Oksenberg and John Ridilla. We also commanded together. I always felt sorry for John because he had to brief first, every time. He'd get all of the hard questions and always maintained that first class smile. I always briefed last and people were so worn out that I never got any questions. Thanks for wearing them down buddy. The first thing you saw with John was his Smile. I'll never forget that or the fact that he could eat ice cream sandwiches like he was never going to get another one. We used to lift weights togther and sometimes Trudy would come to the Gym with us. John would wear his best spandex lifting ensemble and have his earphones in. Never said much in the gym. Just bopped his head to the music and kept lifting. Great workout partner. Focused. John was a great company commander and led his company with distinction. Be at peace my friend. First Rock... Always First

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