Lewis E. Seeley

My hero is my great uncle, Lewis E. Seeley. He spent most of his life in New Hampshire, but eventually moved to northern Delaware. He is inspirational for what he went through many years ago, brave for how he handled it, and very funny. He was very dear to me and went through a lot in his life.

September 11, 1941, my Uncle Lew was aboard the U.S.S. Rowan fighting in WW2. He was in the magazine and his brother, Bob, was on the other side of the ship. All of a sudden, he felt a jerk forward and he heard water gushing. The Nazis had bombed the ship. Uncle Lew evacuated the ship quickly and when he found out his brother had drowned, he handled it well. If that’s not bravery, I don’t know what is.

My Uncle Lew is, without a doubt, my role model. He survived a ship bombing, broke his arm trying to escape, earned a Purple Heart award, and went through the death of his brother, all with his chin up. He wrote a book about it called, Shipmates. I really do want to be just like him.

My uncle made me laugh a lot, even after his death. In his book, in the chapter, "Hawaii," he mentioned that he had wanted to go to Hawaii for a long time. When he went with the Navy, he dreamed of seeing beautiful hula girls. Turns out, the only one he saw on the entire trip was on a postcard. He taught me that some things are more fun in your dreams. But I still think it was one of the funniest stories I had ever heard.

Uncle Lew and Aunt Helen in 1989. (It's a family photo.)

My Uncle Lew was a great man. Without a doubt, he is my hero. His courage, humor, and inspiring ways will never be forgotten.