HomeMy WebLinkAboutHubert Lewis, Brazos Valley Heroes
One in a series of tributes to mem ers 0 "The Greatest
Generation" who served our country during world War II
Some people credtt their hard work or s~i11 when they
succeed in an endeavor. Some depend on others, some on
luck. Hubert Lewis of the Centertine community in Burteson
County credtts the Good Lord for his ability to survive the
rtgor.; of combat durtng Wortd War II.
"I grew up on a farm outside Snook and played football for
Snook High, back when Snook still played football. In our
district were A&M Consolidated, lola and Bedias.1 graduated
in 1939 and went to Dallas to enroll at Luscombe School of
Aeronautics to learn about aircraft. I was able to get a job
at Southem Aircraft in Gartand building gun turrets for B.24
bomber.;.
"I was home, in snook, the day Pearl Harbor was bombed.
I knew then [the war] would involve me and soon. I marrted
Mary Nell Slaton in July 1942 and was drafted into the Army
in December 1943.1 trained at Ft. Sam Houston and Ft. ~i11 in
Oklahoma in the field artillery. I was sent to Camp Campbell,
Ky., to become part of the 20th Armored Division.
"My job In our M7 tank was the NO.1 man, which meant I
pulled the lanyard. Mary Nell had followed me to Kentucky
with our twin sons. They were about three months old when
I got my orders to ship out to Europe in the fall of 1944.
The day we left our gunner didn't show up. So, i became
the gunner, which meant I sighted the targets and aimed
the tube. To this day, I still don't know what happened to
our gunner.
"We landed at La Harve, France, and we got our equipment
at Rauen, France. We moved out for Belgium to help with the
Battle of the Bulge. After the Germans were defeafed, they
headed back to Munich. Our job was to beat them there. We
crossed the Rhine at Bonn and spearheaded the invasion
into Germany.
"We would travel under blackout conditions each night
until about 3 8.m., rest for three to four hours and then be
off again. We had several encounters along the way, some of
the close variety. In one town, we were caught in an ambush
and several of our guys were killed. Our C.O. had us line up,
level our tubes, traver.;e as far to the rtght as we could and
fire at will. n is pretty amazing what six 1 ass can do. They
will level a lot of country in a hurry. "On our way to Munich,
we captured the Gennan concentration camp at Dachau.
Dachua is where the Germans held the Jews and others
and burned them in their crematorium. There were about
35,000 dead waiting to be cremafed when we captured the
camp. n I hadn't seen n with my own eyes, I would have had
a hard time believing that human beings could treat each
other that way.
"Some of our guys reacted to what we saw by killing the
-'
German guards that had been captured. No ane,.and I mean
no one, tried to stop tham. The townspeople tried to act like
they didn't know anything about what had happened, but
they did.
Dachau wasn't very far from Munich and there were about
1,500 55 troops there who had sworn they would fight to
the death for Hitler before surrendering. After Dachau, we
ware ready to give them that opportunity.
On our way to Munich, I almost had my hair parted by
a German sniper. Just outside Munich, our colonel was
. killed at a small town. That town was burned to the ground.
When we got to Munich, the German SS troops were in
their compound behind a big concrete wall. But, that didn't
stop us. Most of the 55 troops there died. Very few were
captured. The 55 had picked the wrong time to take a last
stand, particularly after what we had just seen in Dachau.
"We were on our way to Austria when we received word
that tha war had ended. We went to Chimsee, Germany to
train for tha invasion of Japan. We weren't too thrtlled about
going to Japan because all of us had enough of war by that
time."
Lewis did not have to go to Japan but was in Calnornia
preparing to embark for the invasion when the war ended.
"After I was discharged, I traveled on a train all day and all
night from Calnomia to Jacksonville, Texas, where Mary Nell
and the boys were staying with her family. I arrtved earty in
the morning and remember the boys standing on their bed
when I walked in. The boys didn't know what to make of me,
but tt is a reunion I will never forget.
"I think back about that time and people I served with. In
particular, I remamber our C.O., Capt. Clifton Brock. He was
the bravest man I ever met. Before we entered a town or'
an area that might ba mined, ha would take a halftrack and
drive through himsen. We marveled at the bravery of such a
man, risking his own life to take care of us."
After the war, Lewis worked at Bryan Air Force Base and
A&M Consolidated befora going to work for the highway
department. He worked there until his retirement in 1983.
"We had some pretty close calls and I am humbled at how
God watched over me." .
Hubert Lewis' name can be found on the Brazos Valley
Veteran's Memortal. n you know of a World War II veteran
whose story needs to be told, contact Bill Youngkin at (979)
260.7030. n you wouid like to add someone's name to the
Brazos Valley Veteran's Memolial, names must be submitted
by Aug. 15, 2006 to be angraved on the wall by this year's
Vete~~ Oat obselVance.
The Eagle