My hero, my Dad, Elbert D. Lewis, served during WWII on USS RENO in the South Pacific Theater under the command of Admiral William F. Halsey. Eventhough he already was married and had 2 children, me and my brother, when he was drafted, he served our nation proudly. His ship was bombed by Japanese planes and my Dad was injured and earned the Purple Heart, he was presented with his Purple Heart and other medals later...38 years later. After PRINCETON was hit RENO was alongside with other ships trying to put out the fires. It was decide PRINCETON could not be saved and RENO was ordered to sink her..That was a sad day for my Dad and the shipmates. RENO was later hit with a bomb by a Japanese plane and was damaged so badly that they abandoned ship in the middle of he Pacific..RENO was towed to Ulithi Atol and patched enough to get back to the States for repair. The men in the water were picked up later with no serious injuries..Daddy was drafted again when he was 80 years old and he replied by letter that while he would be happy to serve his country again perhaps he was past drafting age...We had a great laugh and 142 TV, radio stations and Newspapers picked up the story and interviewed him. CNN called him and wanted to come to his house and interview him but, he had a fishing trip planned. He had his 15 minutes of fame. Daddy wrote a book about his experience in WWII at age 82, another book about his youth at age 83. In April 2001, he died at age 86 while working on his third book, exactly one year after the love of his life,my Mother, died. I miss him every day.

Sherry Rose
Moundville, AL