HomeMy WebLinkAboutCharles F.Lewis, Brazos Valley HeroesBy Bill Youngkin
Special to, The Eagle
Charles F. Lewis of Bryan participated in what was
to be considered the fiercest and most crucial of all the
armed confrontations of World War II, the "Battle of the
Atlantic."
By war's end there would be 30,264 merchant sailors,
approximately 28,000 naval personnel, more than 3,500
merchant vessels, 783 submarines and 175 warships
sunk and lost in the battle for control of the North Atlantic.
Lewis' story began on July 25, 1917, when he was
born into a farming family in Blooming Grove, Texas.
"I graduated from Blooming Grove High in 1935 and
headed to A&M, where I graduated in 1939 with a degree
in agronomy," he recalled. "I spent an additional year
getting my master's degree in genetics and went to work
for the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station substation in
Chillicothe, Texas.
"By 1941 it was obvious to me we were headed to war.
I had not taken a commission on graduation from A&M but
decided to volunteer in the spring of 1941. I thought about
joining the Marine Corps, but they were full. I saw a naval
booklet that said: `Be a naval aviator. The pay is good and
the life is glamorous.' I thought why not and applied for
the navy cadet program, was accepted and sent to Naval
Air Station Dallas for cadet training on December 4,1941.
Three days later the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. We
were now in an all-out war on two fronts. I felt I had made
the right decision by joining."
At Dallas, "I learned the ways of the military again.
One day we were standing around watching planes land
and take off when a chief petty officer came by and asked
what we were doing. We said we were watching planes.
He gave us something better for us to do; he gave each of
us a street broom and told us to sweep the street until we
came to the end. It had no end and we learned a valuable
lesson: if you don't have anything to do, stay out of sight."
Lewis did not wash out of the Dallas Cadet Program
and was sent to Corpus Christi to enter the Aviation Cadet
Program.
According to Lewis, ;Training in Corpus Christi
consisted of ground school and flight training. Two things
we spent a great deal of class time on was navigation and
communications, both vital subjects. In regard to radios,
there are certain phrases or words that were used, like
`over,' which meant'This transmission is ove(and I expect
a reply from you.' 'Out' meant `I have no more to say and I
do not expect a reply.' Actors in movies almost always say
'over and out.' I want to cry out: 'You have said it wrong.
You have contradicted yourself."'
Lewis would successfully complete the Aviation Cadet
Program and receive his naval wings as a naval aviator
and the gold bars of an ensign. Lewis would eventually end
up as a pilot of a Martin PBM-Mariner, a seaplane with a
crew of 12 men. It would be as a pilot of this plane that he
would assist in winning the Battle of the Atlantic.
According to Lewis, "My first duty station was to assist
in protecting the Panama Canal from enemy attack and
to escort convoys to and from the Canal. We were flying
off Venezuela when radar picked up a ship. I was the co-
pilot on this mission. Instead of going into battle stations
and coming in low to investigate, the pilot flew over it at
1,000 feet. It was a submarine and it opened fire with their
anti-aircraft guns. I could see the tracers coming up at us.
The shells began to hit the pla-re and explode. Shrapnel
tore through the plane and smoke filled the cockpit. We
did not seem t0 be on fire and everything still worked. We
checked with the men and only one man was wounded.
He was bleeding profusely, but the wound was not serious.
We figured out the sub was German, but that was a poor
way to identify the enemy. Our ships sunk that sub the
next day."
Lewis would be sent to Bermuda to assist with
defending the shipping convoys leaving the U.S. for
Europe. The ships were loaded with men, munitions and
all the supplies needed to fight the war in Europe.
"The convoys would have 100-140 ships all lined
up and in columns. Our duty, as aerial escort, was to
fly patterns 50 miles in front, 25 miles to each side and
10 miles behind the convoys in a zigzag pattern. That
way we kept the surface cleared of subs. If they were
submerged they could not get up enough speed to catch
the convoys, and if under water, the subs were subject to
being detected by the escort ships. Our main duty was to
keep the submarines under water so the ships could pass
safely. While we were on duty, no ship we were escorting
was ever torpedoed."
After the war ended, Lewis and his wife, the former
Ruth Neeley of Bryan, would leave the navy and return
to Bryan. In 1951 Lewis would earn his-PhD in genetics
from the University of California at Berkley. He returned to
.continue his career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
where he remained until his retirement in 1979. He also
remained active in the naval reserve after the war.
"When the Korean War started, I heard from the Navy
again. I got a letter asking if I wanted to report in 30, 60 or
90 days. I replied that 90 would suit mebest. I-still haven't
heard back from the Navy.
"Thinking back on that experience, it was a great
adventure to learn to fly, and I am very proud to have
served my country."
Charles F. Lewis' name is found on the Brazos t/alley
Veterans Memorial. If you want to have a name added
to the Veterans Memorial, for more information, to make
a contribution, or if you know a World War 11 veteran
whose story needs to be told, contact the BWM at www.
veteransmemorial.org or Bill Youngkin at (979) 260-7030.
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