 He joined the Army Air Corps in October 1942 and rose to the rank of Tech Sergeant as the flight engineer on a B24 Bomber. He was stationed in Foggia, Italy and on August 2, 1944,while bombing oil refineries in southern France, his plane, the “Patsy Jack,” was hit by anti-aircraft ground flak. The crew managed to make it into the southern Alps of France, where they left their burning plane and parachuted to safety. However, they found themselves behind German lines and joined the French resistance, fighting until the American Army was able to liberate them after 32 days. For his service, James a awarded 3 Bronze Battle Stars and the Air Medal with 5 clusters. In 1995, some 51 years later, James, accompanied by his two sons, returned to the site of his plane’s crash and was honored by the French people of the area. Each of the seven towns in the area, which were aided by Lewis’s crew, threw large ceremonies welcoming them as the heroes that they were!