CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It was a long wait for Sergeant Willie Lewis to receive his Purple Heart, but he finally received the honor Thursday night at the state Culture Center.
Surrounded by U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Bob McDonald, friends, family and other servicemen, Lewis was grateful to receive the award at last.
“It means so much to me. I’m so excited. Friends and loved ones that I haven’t seen in many, many months. I’m just overjoyed to have these friends and family around me to receive this medal,” Lewis said.
Lewis served in both Vietnam and Korea, and was a prisoner of war in the latter. McDonald talked about West Virginia’s history of producing many veterans, and said Lewis’ story is amazing.
“It’s so wonderful to be able to meet a Medal of Honor recipient. To be involved in a Purple Heart (ceremony),” he said. “Willie, who not only was a prisoner of war in Korea, but after he got out from being a prisoner of war re-enlisted and then served in Vietnam. What a remarkable story. How many Americans are there who have fought in two wars and been a prisoner of war in one of them?”
Lewis’ called the honor “a long time waiting,” but said his experience as a medic taught him that some people have to wait. He is now the pastor of a Baptist church in Logan County, as part of a promise he says he made with God for delivering him from captivity.
“I got through it because I was one who always liked to lean on prayer,” Lewis recalled. “And I asked him if he would save me, that I would serve him the rest of my life.”
Lewis described his experience as POW as a scary and eye opening one, telling a story of how he was shocked to see horses on the battlefield.
“It was very dangerous. I have seen some things in those two places which I hadn’t see anywhere else. While I was captured in Korea, I even saw horses,” Lewis said. “I didn’t see many of them. While I was captured, they wouldn’t allow me to get to close. I was surprised to see them, but they were there.”
West Virginia has the highest percentage of veteran residents per capita in the nation, according to a Jan. 2015 column by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.