"And so the gate creaked, and here they come, and I felt like they could hear my heartbeat. I put my hand over my heart. It was beating so hard." (Audio Interview, Part I, 34:13)

Arch Joseph Lewis, Jr.

Arch Lewis War: World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953 Branch: Army; Army Unit: 337th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, 101st Airborne Division Service Location: European Theater; Normandy, France Rank: Second Lieutenant POW: Yes Place of Birth: KY

Arch Lewis was working for a railroad company, hoping to hold out and join a railroad battalion when he was drafted to serve in World War II. During basic training, he volunteered to go to jump school and train to be a paratrooper because the uniforms looked so sharp. He passed his qualifying jumps and was sent over to England. On D- Day, his aircraft was forced off course and when he was given the green light Lewis had missed his landing zone by 10 or 12 miles and wound up in hedgerow country. Lewis was taken prisoner by the Germans and would not return to combat. Once Lewis returned to the States he put his GI Bill to use and became a dentist, starting a successful practice that he ran for 33 years.