U.S. Army Sergeant Charity Lewis Interview

U.S. Army Sergeant Charity Lewis has completed two separate deployments to Iraq - one with the Pennsylvania National Guard and the other with the Indiana National Guard. During her first deployment she took full advantage of Spirit of America resources and requested everything from toys and beanie babies, to blankets and soccer balls. She kept a considerable stock of these items where she worked, and became quite popular with U.S. Marines who would stop by and ask her to fill up their Humvees before they went out on patrol. Sgt. Lewis was also able to take Spirit of America-supplied materials with her when she went out on patrol herself. She was directly responsible for distributing tens of thousands of dollars worth of items that yielded friendly and positive relationships between the Iraqi people and American Soldiers and Marines, and she no doubt saved the lives of several by showing that Americans really care about the future of Iraq.

So imagine how excited I was to learn that Sgt. Lewis was back from Iraq, and living in her hometown of Beford, Indiana, just a few hours from my own home in Zionsville, Indiana. With the help of volunteer Matt Massie (himself a two-deployment veteran of Iraq as a U.S. Marine), we traveled to Beford and interviewed Sgt. Lewis about her experiences in Iraq, and with Spirit of America. Click on the title of this blog post to see that interview on YouTube.

Thanks to Sgt. Lewis for exemplifying Spirit of America, and thanks also to volunteer Matt Massie for helping out with this interview. - Dennis Norris