MILITARY MATTERS: 96-Year Old Veteran Still Serving Others in Georgia

EDISON, Ga. (WTVM) - He’s a hero who served our country selflessly, now living and still serving others an hour south of Columbus.

“I was just a teenage boy when I finished high school and the draft took us. I was drafted in the military Oct. 10, 1950,” Army veteran Lewis Harrison said.

The 96-year-old, who is about to turn 97, grew up on a farm in Edison, Georgia – the city where he now supports local churches and students.

“I’m blessed to live a long live. My mother lived to be 103. My father was 80. My two older brothers were fighting in World War II and I had Korea and Vietnam,” he said.

Harrison also served another stint overseas.

“I was in Germany about 19 months because we had an occupational army over there. The war was over. The country was flattened. I served with the engineers. We built roads and repaired apartment buildings under the Marsha plan. I served there and when my time was up, I came back to the states,” Harrison said.

He spent 7 years total serving the U.S. in uniform.

“Well, it had a lot of impact on my life. Nothing belongs to me. God has been good. I would like to tell my fellow American’s that change is coming. At a time when people are very frustrated, and I think sometimes we lose sense of our direction,” he said.

Harrison also has some advice for younger generations.

“Fear God and mind your own business,” he said, a simple but bold answer from the former soldier.

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