| Sources |
- [S75] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume II, 1955-1973, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 29 Jan 1971.
Toy Virgil Henry obituary
- [S80] Rawlings Funeral Home, (http://www.rawlingsfuneralhome.com/), 3 Oct 2007.
John H. Frye obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 4 Jul 2010.
Veteran grateful for American way of life
by ELLEN BROWN
Lewis Messick served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps, and was sent to Vietnam when he was 17.
Wears Valley resident Lewis Messick has always been a proud American.
He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in December 1965, and when he left for Vietnam in the fall of 1966, he was only 17 years old.
“A lot of guys I grew up with were drafted,” he said. “It wasn’t a popular thing (going to war), but I didn’t pay attention to that. The Marine Corps had some things I liked, like working on demolition. It was a good experience.”
Of course, “good” doesn’t always mean “easy.”
“I had never really been around anything like that before, growing up in Wears Valley. Being away from home was a challenge. We were in the northern part of the country, a few miles from the demilitarized zone and not far from the Laotian border. It was a really hot place, very uncomfortable. We had to spend several weeks at a time in the field. We were constantly moving, carrying our gear with us.”
Back then, soldiers didn’t have a lot of access to media.
“On our way home, they gave us a lot of information about the protests and how to avoid them. It didn’t bother me much.”
During his last two years of military service, he was stationed in Cherry Point, N.C.
Along with the love for his country, Messick’s family and faith are important factors in his life.
“My wife (Marcia) and I have been married for 41 years. She graduated high school, and we were married the next day — I was home on leave. We ended up building a little house in Wears Valley.”
The couple have two children, Julie Messick, a teacher at Boyds Creek Elementary School, and Lewis, a U.S. Air Force C-130J pilot. They are grandparents to four children, the oldest of which is 6 years old.
They are also active in their church, Church in the Valley, “one of the most important things in our lives.”
Messick has great empathy for today’s soldiers, especially for his son, who has been deployed six times to the Middle East.
“It’s not easy being career military. It’s a lot of sacrifice for yourself and your family. The training seems to be more complicated and faster-paced today, but it seems to be better. It’s still a lot of work — it takes a lot of dedication. As I get older, I appreciate what they do even more.”
He added that he feels “very fortunate” to live in the United States.
“We have freedoms that they don’t have in other places. The military is a big part of that. We take a lot of things for granted, but I’ve always been comfortable and able to work. I really appreciate the opportunities we have here. I feel very blessed.”
ebrown@themountainpress.com
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