Korean War veteran receives medals 57 years after leaving military

Inside his home in Jonesborough, 81 year-old Bill Lewis begins the same story he has told hundreds of times. 57 years after leaving the U.S. Army, his story finally has a proper ending. The story begins in 1950 when the U.S. Army drafted Lewis to fight in the Korean War. Like many young Americans, he landed on the frontlines.

“There were plenty of close calls, but I don’t like to talk about them,” Lewis said.

Alongside other soldiers, Lewis fought in three battles before the military discharged him in 1952. However, he returned home empty-handed. Decades later, he wondered why the government never sent him his service medals.

“I never got nothing,” Lewis said. “All the records got burned up.“

It turns out a fire destroyed millions of military files including those that belonged to Lewis. After the Kingsport Korean War Veterans Association contacted the military this year, the government corrected its mistake.

The medals arrived this month, just in time for Veterans Day. However, they did not arrive in time for his wife to see them. She died in September.

“I was excited I got them, but she didn’t get to see them,“ Lewis said.

At least now everybody else gets to see them. On Veterans Day, the day before what would have been his wife’s 80th birthday, he wore his medals with pride. 57 years later, he finally feels like a hero.

“I’m just proud that the good Lord let me live through it,” Lewis said. “I told my kids, ‘I didn’t do nothing to be a hero.’ But since I got back, to you and my grandkids, I am a hero.”