DeWitt Lewis, Vietnam Veteran - Part II
DeWitt Lewis, Vietnam Veteran - Part II
When John DeWitt Lewis completed his tour of duty in Vietnam, he was assigned to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, just south of Arlington, Virginia. His main job was to fly Pentagon officials around to various points. Two helicopters had to be on duty 24 hours a day. Lots of time was spent waiting to transport. He was not very excited about doing this taxi service.
One time he had a mission to take a researcher in a two-seat helicopter to count eggs in an eagle’s nest along the Potomac River. They returned a few days later to count the hatchlings.
He and others were honored for their Vietnam service in a ceremony on the Mall in Washington, D. C. He received an Air Medal and five Oak Leaf Clusters. Captain John D. Lewis was discharged on July, 13, 1964.
DeWitt and his family returned to Tiffin and he began working at National Machinery. He worked in the Engineering Department as a designer and also in many locations on the shop floor.
In 1969 he was sent to Nuremberg, Germany, as a member of a team to help run a National Machinery plant there. He and his family, now including Clay, born in 1967, were in Germany for five years. The children attended German schools and Gwen home schooled them also.
In 1974 he was sent to Rockford, Illinois, to help the recently purchased plant there to convert their operations to match National Machinery requirements. They were there two years. During that time Gwen completed her Library Science degree at Northern Illinois University.
Home again in Tiffin, they found the house on Pearl Street too small, so they raised the roof and added a second story. DeWitt continued to work at National Machinery until 1997 when he retired. Gwen worked for the Tiffin City Schools primarily as a librarian at West Junior High for 20 years and she is also retired.
Many people in Tiffin will remember Gwen’s father, Don Shepherd, who served as superintendent of the Tiffin City Schools from 1954 until 1969. After he retired, he was an assistant professor at Heidelberg College for ten years. He supervised the secondary teachers and their placement. Don died in July, 2001 at the age of 90 and his wife, Geneva, still lives in her home near the Lewises.
DeWitt and Gwen’s oldest daughter, Coleen, a 1979 graduate of Columbian High School went on to graduate from Miami University and lives with her husband Jay Kiesel in Owasso near Tulsa, Oklahoma. They have three children.
Deanna, a 1980 Columbian graduate, went to Michigan State University and obtained a degree in physical therapy from Ohio State University. She married Tom Parkhurst, also a physical therapist, and they have four children. They live in Kazakhstan where they work in humanitarian programs.
Clay graduated from Columbian in 1985 and then graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Cincinnati. He and his wife Kelly Coffman Lewis, also a 1985 Columbian graduate, live in Findlay, Ohio where he works for Cooper Tire. Kelly is active in musical productions in Findlay. They have two children.
DeWitt and his brother have built a large hanger-like structure in their back yard to contain a motor home (now for sale) and a half-completed two-seater helicopter. Sometime ago DeWitt ordered a helicopter kit, and he spends some of his spare time putting it together. He is also constructing a mobile platform trailer which will be used to transport the helicopter and will serve as a helipad.
DeWitt and Gwen enjoy retirement and look forward to adventures with the completed helicopter.
– Percy