My (step) father, 1 Lt. Earl G. Lewis served with the Combat Engineers in the south pacific during WWII. He initially saw action in New Guinea and worked his through the islands finally ending up in the Philippines at the war's end. He came shore immediately after MacArthur's return to the Philippines. He barely escaped a Kamikaze attack while unloading barges in the Philippines. He heard the screaming Japanese plane as it dove toward it's target and ran like hell and was spared. The barge was destroyed. Throughout the entire campaign he was wounded more than once from shrapnel in his back and neck. He refused to accept the "Purple Heart(s)". He told the medics (Doctors) to "stick the Purple Heart(s) 'cause it wouldn't make him feel any better." He also from suffered ruptured ear drums (explosions) and malaria. I recall him saying that he refused to surrender his Colt Model 1911, 45 cal. pistol (he wore it in a shoulder holster) when boarding the ship home. He said he would remove it when he saw the Golden Gate Bridge. He brought this side arm home with him. I recall vividly seeing this .45 Colt when I was a child and early adolescent. He had removed the standard grips and replaced these a clear "Plexiglas" type material with a picture of my mother on each side. He swapped this pistol for a Coleman Camp Stove when we moved to Alaska. DAD, NO!!! The documented provenance with this pistol would have made it PRICELESS!! IT WAS MY DAD'S . . . . . . However, I do have his jungle/fighting knife.
Paul LewisGlennallen, AK