Lewis A. Hayes US Navy USS West Virginia

My father, who had been an all star athlete at Daniel Webster High, Tulsa Oklahoma, was reported the first Tulsan killed in action at Pearl Harbor and because he had been an all state football player and excelled in most other sports it was big news in the Tulsa world. For two weeks after his reported death, there was a memorial service at the high school and a radio memorial hosted by Lewis' idol, country music legend Bob Wills. Then amazingly enough, he was found alive and his family was notified of the error in reporting his death. He told us some large man he did not know, had pulled him up by the hair of his head, out of the water that day and put him in a small boat of some sort. This unknown man saved his life and made it possible for me to be born to share this amazing story of an ordinary man. This incredible story was front page news in the Tulsa area for several weeks and remains today a part of our family history. My father passed away November, 2000 at the age of 78, 60 years beyond the first reports of his death and his memorial service.

Information provided by Jerre Hayes-Dill