Walter McKinley Lewis is a Retired Coast Guard Hospital Corpsman Senior Chief Petty Officer. Here his story of escaping the segregated south to becoming platoon leader at Boot Camp and continuing to follow his passion in the Coast Guard, where he was a helicopter SARs medic and “Doc” on the ice cutter, Glacier which travelled to Antarctica three times while stopping at some of the world’s most amazing ports. There were sports, too: football on the ice at zero degrees, softball in New Zealnd, and a thrilling basketball game in Fiji that you have to hear to believe! Walter ranked out in the Coast Guard, retiring after 28 years of service, but his adventures and insatiable zest for life continue.
Please be aware that it carries a warning for historical recounting of a tragedy in Vietnam, in which Walter opens up about a friend’s death. It is hard to listen to and may be triggering to some, so please be aware of this subject matter.
SHOW NOTES:
Bunkie, LA | Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunkie,_Louisiana
Cottonport, LA | Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottonport,_Louisiana
Ho Chi Minh Trail | Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh_trail
Drake's Passage | Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_Passage
Admiral Richard E. Byrd - Self-Isolated at the End of the World | NYT - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/science/antarctica-byrd-distancing-expedition.html
Timeline Robert Scott's Expedition | American Museum of Natural History - https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/race-to-the-end-of-the-earth/scott/timeline
McMurdo Station | NSF - https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/support/mcmurdo.jsp
Race to the South Pole: Scott and Amumundsen | Royal Greenwich Museum - https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/race-south-pole-scott-amundsen
Amundsen Becomes First to Reach South Pole, December 14, 1911 | ScientificAmerica - https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/south-pole-discovered-december-14-1911/
George Washington Gibbs, Jr. Defied Danger and Racism to Become the First African-American to Visit Antarctica | Smithsonian Magazine - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/george-washington-gibbs-jr-defied-danger-and-racism-become-first-african-american-visit-antarctica-180971568/
MOVIES & SHOWS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT:
Twelve Years A Slave - Official Trailer - Searchlight Pictures | YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z02Ie8wKKRg
Bonanza (Ben Cartwright) - Death On Sun Mountain - Grjngo-Western Series | YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwIraTNNZfk
The Help (2011) Movie Trailer (HD) - Movieclips Trailers | YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOTkNsxhECY
Deadliest Catch Official Trailer - Original Productions | YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BnWa7bHOLI
E104 - Maureen Deering Davis: Reducing Stress & Finding Gratitude
E102 - Thankful
E101 - Brooke Applegate: Whimsy Maker
E99 - Walter McKinley Lewis - An Amazing Life
E97 - Madison Silva: The Challenges of AI
E96 - Deep Dive with Sofia
E95 - The Whole Shebang: Luis Guerra - Music Through MS
E94 - Burning Times Tarot: Autumn Readings
E93- Madison Silva - The Creative Process
E92 - Michelle Buchanan Hernandez - Beautiful Stones
E92 - Bases I’ve Visited: Ft. Sill, Oklahoma
E90 - A Mouse, A Hawk & Answers to Some Questions
E89 - Evan Papdakis: Zuzu’s Petals
E88 - Katie Godfrey: Emergency Care with Heart
E87 - Silvia Askenazi - Tango: A Heart to Heart Connection
E86 - Matt McDonald: The Guinness Session
Episode 4 - In the Company of Friends Talk: Don Atwood
E85 - Jenny Ruiz of Burning Times Tarot
E84 - Lists with Sofia: Passions & Time
E83 - Richard Foss - Food, Culture & Entertainment
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