In the news!

Here are some articles about Kelli and I in the news: 

 

Biking across America
58 bicyclists ride through town on the way from Astoria to New Hampshire
By Lon Austin Thursday a group of 58 bicyclists rode into town, pedaling across America.    Not an unusual ocurance, but this was not a typical group of riders.    The riders came from all over the world. There were riders from England, Denmark, Australia, Pennsylvania, Florida, Minnesota. All ages and backgrounds. More than half of the group was older than 50. Two members were older than 70 and two others are celebrating their 70th birthday on the trip. Forty percent are women. Fifteen members of the group are raising money for various charities.    Some ride for the challenge, some looking for personal transformation, some for a cause, but all of them shared some common themes.    They are looking to challenge themselves, they are celebrating life, and they have strong belief systems.    Belief in themself, belief in their cause, belief in others, belief in God. Whatever the belief they were passionate and enthusiastic about their ride and their cause.    They are on the fourth day of a 50-day journey from Astoria to Portsmouth, N.H. Their ride will cover 3,629 miles. They will ride through eight states and a piece of Canada. They have four rest days on their trip and ride as little 50 miles in a day and as much as 120 miles.    Possibly the hardest legs of their journey are today and tomorrow as they travel 117 miles to John Day and then 81 miles to Baker City on Saturday. They will be going over two long steep climbs today, then a longer steeper climb tomorrow.    Last night they were given route maps to John Day showing the elevation gain and loss, where there was water available, and where they could get food. The group listened intently to instructions about where their support team would be and what to do if they had a problem. They were cautioned about eating too much before a steep climb and about making sure that they stayed hydrated.    Some looked apprehensive about the climbs, while others were looking forward to the challenge. Some studied the elevation change closely, looking at how long and steep climbs were going to be while others choose to not look at that page, preferring to not know what was coming.    The only person in the group that I ran across from Oregon was Karen Bauer, a member of the support team who lives in Eugene.    ”This group is a little different from our typical groups,” said Bauer. “They are a little older and we have more women than usual. I think cycling is becoming more popular with older people because they can afford it, and anyone can do it.”    ”Looking for some kind of an epiphany”    Ray Schneider, 48, from Wayne, Penn., a suburb of Philadelphia, was typical of those seeking personal transformation.    ”In September I quit my job after 20 years,” he said. “I was the senior guy in a consulting company. It was time for a change. To start with I focused on my physical health. Now I’m searching for what to do next. You go brain-dead out there on the road. It’s fabulous. I guess I’m looking for some kind of an epiphany. Maybe after all these years I can do something more valuable for my community than earning a buck.”    Schneider, who ran triathlons earlier in his sports career, swims, bikes and runs, and spent three months, preparing for the trip, and is raising money for a youth foundation in his home town.    Others like Chris and Sheri Hume of England are riding just for the adventure and the sight-seeing.    ”Usually we ride in a loop and return to where we started,” said Chris. “This is so different, and the terrain is beautiful.”    ”It’s so dry here,” said Sheri while stopping for water on the top of Grizzly. “We have never experienced anything like this.”    Some riders in the group are raising money for cancer research or cancer survivors, others to raise awareness of autism or the importance of blood donations.    Maio Nishkian, 20, the youngest member of the group, is riding to raise money for Feed the Children. A student at Montana State University, Nishkian is hoping to make some kind of a difference.    ”I just decided to try something hard,” she said. “It has been an amazing experience already and we are only on day five. I just hope that I can make a difference and give something back while I am doing something selfish to challenge myself.”    ”Riding in celebration of life”    Linda Peterson, a nurse from California is riding to bring attention to autism. She noted that one out of every 150 children currently born in the United States, and one out of 94 boys will be diagnosed. Peterson, 54, is hoping to raise money for the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute.    ”I ride for myself in celebration of life,” said Peterson. “But I also ride because something is happening to our children out there and we need to find out what. Everyone out there either knows somebody or has a family member that has autism. This is a challenge for my muscles. When I think about that I’m doing this for somebody else and not myself it keeps me going, because my challenges are so much less than someone with an autistic child.”    Peterson noted that anyone can do a long bicycle ride.    ”Anybody can do it,” she said. “You have to train and you have to have the will and desire. Most of us aren’t great cyclists. You just have to psych yourself up to get up the next hill. It is a great ride. We see great sights and are doing good things for ourselves.”    Nathan Lewis, a 28-year-old Marine who retired from active duty in February is raising money for the Injured Marine Semper Fidelis Fund.    ”My goal was to raise $10,000, and as of today we are extremely close to $12,000,” he said.    The fund helps with rehabilitation for injured Marines and support for the families of marines who have been killed in action.    ”The support for wounded or killed veterans and their families has to be on an ongoing basis,” Lewis said. “There is a lot of support initially that goes to the family whether it be emotional or financial. What is difficult is to remember that they live that event every moment from then on. Rehabilitation is very painful because they are pushing themselves everyday. The Semper Fi fund helps give them tools to help with motivation, and they will pay for wounded veterans to and compete in para-and quadriplegic events. The organization also does a lot for wounded veterans and they really help with family support.”    Lewis believes in his cause so much that he is paying for his trip out of his own pocket rather than do anything that would take money away from his cause.    ”The people on this trip are amazing,” he said. “This is very physically demanding and I think their age has taught them how to deal with pain. These people are successful in their personal lives and they are always challenging themselves. They have challenged themselves in business, and challenged themselves physically. It is a definite personality trait for somebody to do a bike trip like this where physically their body is probably telling them to stop and mentally they just keep pushing it.”    Lewis is keeping a blog of his trip that you can read at americabybicycle.wordpress.com.    ”Looking up from the bottom”    Larry Frederick is lucky to be alive. While on duty as a police officer in San Diego we was struck by a car traveling 65 miles an hour. His femoral artery was severed and although he was at the hospital within six minutes of being struck he had already bled out and stopped bleeding.    Nine surgeries and 110 points of blood later Frederick is still alive. He was forced to retire from police work because of his injuries, but has not let that stop him. This will be his third trip across the United States by bike.    ”I want others to know that even when you are so far down that when looking up you can see the bottom there is still hope,” Frederick said.    Frederick makes it his mission to raise awareness of the importance of blood donation.    ”I would not be alive today if it weren’t for the 110 donors that gave blood for me,” he said. “Every time we have a blood drive and people give donations I say thank you to each and every one of them. We are trying to get the next generation to give blood. Less than 5 percent of Americans actually give blood.”    Frederick noted that it was his faith that saved him. He believes that his belief in God made the difference and that now it is his calling to make a difference for others.    Years after his accident Frederick is still in rehabilitation and says that although it causes pain for him to bicycle, without it his body does even worse.    ”Without my faith in Christ I would have given up,” he said. “Without hope you have nothing but despair. I would say to others that no matter what the injury, no matter how severe the disability you have to believe it first and then it will happen.”    Frederick is chronicaling his journey on his Web site at www.lifeacrossamerica.com. He notes that even though things never get easy there is always hope.    Tom Randall is a former professional basketball player. He is a sports phsycologist and works professionally with a number of golfers as well as being the chaplain for the Champions Golf Tour. But his true calling in life is a set of orphanages in the Philippines.    ”I played basketball in 40 different countries in my career,” said Randall. “I played oversees my whole career and the Philippines became my home base. My wife and I started adopting orphans. We have adopted 48 orphans and now we have three orphanages and 200 orphans.”    Randall has raised $630,000 for his orphanages so far on this trip. He is riding an expensive high tech bicycle that was donated by the president of Trek Bikes.    ”I’m having the time of my life,” he said. “Every day that I ride I do it for the kids. The Lord just put it on our hearts. When you are doing things for the Lord and have the right reasons, anything can happen. I’m having as much fun riding this ride and meeting these people as I did playing basketball and I loved basketball. Things have a way of growing when you do them for the right reasons and I never could have imagined what has happened.”    If you would like to follow Randall’s journey you can check out his blog at bike4kidsblotgspot.com.    Anyone interested in this kind of trip can get information and track the progress of this years riders at www.abbike.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday, April 05, 2008

‘A new civilian’: Owatonna soldier organizes a bike ride across America to raise money for wounded Marines

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Submitted First Lieutenant Nathan Lewis, pictured left in the fatigues he wore as a U.S. Marine in this submitted photo, has completed two tours in Iraq, and is now preparing for his new life as a civilian.

Submitted Lewis, shown here, flies a flag in Iraq in honor of the families who lost loved ones during the I-35W Minneapolis bridge collapse. Because of his work as an intelligence officer, Lewis was unable to allow media to use his name in stories about the event.

By MOLLY BECK

mbeck@owatonna.com

OWATONNA – Nathan Lewis has driven into exploding bombs, watched a bullet strike a friend’s head and interrogated some of the world’s most dangerous people.

But on a Tuesday morning in his mother’s pristine, quiet living room – First Lieutenant Nathan Lewis seemed nervous.

“I have an interview today,” Lewis said, rubbing the lapel of his gray suit jacket in the rural Owatonna home. “That’s why I have my suit on today.”

Lewis, 27, has just completed his second and last tour of duty in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps – a path that took him to the Haditha district of the Al Anbar province of western Iraq for two years.

Now finished with active duty, Lewis is planning to take a path away from guns and fatigues and toward the corporate ladder, a process Nathan calls “becoming a new civilian.”

Lewis is stationed in San Diego, living there with his wife Kelli, but hopes to return to Minnesota to earn a Master’s of Business Administration degree at his alma mater, Carlson School of Management in Minneapolis, with whom he had an interview on that Tuesday in March.

“I would love to get into upper management or be some sort of business leader,” Lewis said the day of his interview. “I’d love to come back to Owatonna too.”

Lewis was born in Owatonna but left the city after he graduated high school to attend college, and most recently, to serve in Iraq.

“I’ve always been interested in the military and was working for the Department of Justice when 9/11 happened. And when the U.S.S. Cole bombings happened – I knew I wanted to join,” Lewis said.

After enlisting in 2006, Lewis was soon chosen to be an intelligence officer with the Marines. Assigned the task of counter and human intelligence in the Al Anbar province, Lewis said he spent his time trying to get the Iraqi residents to trust him.

“On one hand, you do source operations which is getting Iraqis to provide information and to work with the coalition,” Lewis said. “On the other hand, you’re conducting interrogations.”

Lewis was chosen out of thousands of Marines to work with the locals in the Haditha triad, where he spent both his tours of duty.

“When I got my deployment orders, the first thing I did was Google it,” Lewis said. “And the first thing that came up was ‘Haditha: Civilian massacre?’ and I said, ’sounds like a good place.’”

Clearly kidding, Nathan added that during his first deployment to the area, explosions were expected everyday.

“I remember my convoy got attacked by an IED (improvised explosive device) very early on,” Lewis recalled. “The intelligence network was not developed at the time and that was my job.”

During his second deployment, however, Lewis said the level of trust between the troops and the locals grew immensely because of the work he had helped start in 2006 and an increased number of troops deployed to the area.

“The cooperation was unbelievable,” Lewis said. “You had people fighting us in 2003 that were now working for us in 2007.”

Nathan’s intelligence work left him with orders to keep quiet about what he was doing or where he was. His family says often times they knew he was OK but not much more.

“He talks about certain situations and events, but he can’t be super descriptive and can’t tell everything – a lot of it is still highly classified,” Nick Lewis, Nathan’s older brother, said about Nathan’s communication with his family. “There are things he can talk about in general but not specific events, situations and people.”

Nick Lewis is just two years older than his younger brother but marvels at Nathan’s accomplishments in the Marine Corps.

“When he got picked out of 268 officers, he was the only one that got that position which is highly sought after,” Nick said. “To be the head of an intelligence unit for western Iraq is a huge amount of responsibility for anyone, let alone a 27-year-old.”

At 27, Nathan’s military responsibilities have shown him the death of a close friend and the severe wounding of another.

“Some of [the war] is just unlucky. I remember a bullet ricocheting off the ground and hit the back of [a soldier's] head,” Nathan said.

Instead of continuing a career in intelligence, Nathan has decided to leave active duty and pursue his life as a new civilian.

“I was offered a lot of jobs to stay in intelligence. But it occupies all my time and, though it will take you to the ends of the earth, it’s not ideal to be able to raise a family. You have to live intelligence. It’s easy in Iraq because that’s all you do. You have to live it,” Nathan said.

Nathan’s wife Kelli calls herself a military wife but says she is relieved to know her husband will be staying in the states for now.

“You don’t want to get those phone calls,” Kelli said. “It was really hard when he was away. I am glad that we did our part for the country, but I’m also glad we don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Lewis takes another tour

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Eric Braem/People’s Press Bracelets imprinted with the Marines motto raise money for the Semper Fi fund.

By MOLLY BECK

mbeck@owatonna.com

SAN DIEGO – When First Lieutenant Nathan Lewis left active duty in October, the Owatonna Marine decided that he was not yet done serving his country.

Nathan and his wife Kelli have organized a bicycle tour across the nation to raise money for the Semper Fi fund, which aids injured Marines and families of Marines who have been wounded or killed.

To raise the money, Kelli and Nathan had bracelets made displaying ‘Semper Fidelis,’ the Marines’ motto meaning ‘Always Faithful’ in Latin, and are selling them for $5 anywhere they can.

Along with 50 other bike riders, Nathan and Kelli will begin the ride in Oregon in June and stop in New Hampshire.

“We’re going to dip our rear wheel in the pacific and the front wheel in the Atlantic,” Nathan said.

Expected to take about 50 days, the tour is making stops in Mankato and Rochester along the way.

“I picked the route that goes right through Owatonna,” Nathan said.

Nathan and his wife were inspired to organize the ride after Nathan came home from two tours of duty in Iraq.

“I see how hard it is for our friends (who were injured in Iraq) and I just want to help,” Kelli Lewis said.

Nathan said he felt compelled to raise money for the fund after seeing a battle buddy die in Iraq and another become a quadriplegic.

The cost of the ride is being covered by Nathan and his wife but both are hoping people who see their ride along the way will donate directly to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.

Nathan’s brother Nick Lewis is also helping raise money for the fund here in Owatonna by selling bracelets at Thrivent Financial, where he works as a financial associate.

“To me, [the fundraiser] just speaks of the character the Marine Corp has taught him,” Nick Lewis said about his brother. “How many other 27-year-olds are thinking of doing stuff like that? Most people are thinking about video games or about taking care of themselves and here he’s thinking of taking care of people he doesn’t know.”

The ride will be the last service to the Marines that Nathan will have before going to graduate school in the Twin Cities. With many of his fellow soldiers returning to Iraq just recently, Nathan said he misses being in Iraq but sees the fundraiser as his way to continue to serve his country.

“I’m a new civilian again and want to show people I still care,” he said.

To buy a bracelet, please visit Thrivent Financial at 127 W. Pearl Street in Owatonna or call Nick Lewis at 455-3727. Or, to donate directly to the Semper Fi fund visit its Web site at www.semperfifund.org.

4/7/2008 9:07:00 PM  Email this article • Print this article  Doing his part Thousands of Marines have served at one time or another in Iraq since the war began in 2003.Most return home more or less in tact.It’s the nearly 9,000 men and women to date who have come home on a stretcher that Nathan Lewis is turning his attention to.Lewis, who left active duty in October, still wants to serve his country as a civilian. He and his wife, Kelli, have organized a bicycle tour across the nation to raise money for the Semper Fi Fund, which provides financial assistance to injured Marines and families of Marines who have been wounded or killed.Having already spent two tours of duty in the Haditha District of the Al Anbar province of western Iraq dodging bullets and bombs, Lewis will now put his body in more peril as he pedals across the country from Oregon to New Hampshire.To raise money, Kelli and Nathan had bracelets made displaying “Semper Fidelis,” the Marines’ motto meaning “Always Faithful” in Latin. The Lewises will be selling these bracelets for $5 each to raise funds.”I see how hard it is for our friends (who were injured in Iraq) and I just want to help,” Kelli said in a recent interview.After seeing the death and devastation in Iraq, most soldiers returning from Iraq just want to forget. For Nathan Lewis, it’s what he saw that is driving him to pedal across country. Not only are the Lewises making this sacrifice for fellow Marines, they are doing it on their own, with money out of their own pockets. They are hoping people who see them along the 50-day (approximately) ride that will take them through Owatonna sometime in June will give generously to the Semper Fi Fund. First Lieutenant Nathan Lewis should not only be commended for his service to his country, he should be applauded for helping the thousands of injured Marines and the families of those injured and killed in Iraq. It is people like Nathan and Kelli Lewis who give Owatonna a good name. Nathan should not only be heralded as a hero in his Marine life, he should be considered one as a civilian.             St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN) October 9, 2007 Section: Local Edition: St. Paul Page: B1AT WAR IN IRAQ, MARINE HONORS VICTIMS OF TRAGEDY AT HOME RUBEN ROSARIO  The 13 U.S. flags, all of them tightly folded in three-point military style, rested on a table Monday in a conference room at the Red Cross office in Minneapolis.  The folding ritual, I was told, dates to the three-corner hats in vogue at the time of the American Revolution.             The symbolism of the number 13 — the figure most culturally associated with misfortune as well as the number of stars on our nation’s first flag — was not lost on me Monday morning. A typed note was placed and secured by rubber bands on each folded flag. Each note said the same thing, though each was individually addressed to a different posthumous honoree: ”My name is Nathan (last name omitted) and I am a 1st Lieutenant with the United States Marines Corps, serving in Al-Anbar, Iraq. As a fellow Minnesotan and graduate of the University of Minnesota, I want to pass (on) my most sincere condolences on your loss and let you know that the country is thinking and praying for you and your family in this tragic time.” Sounds like a military missive to families of a soldier killed in combat. Actually, these are the sentiments expressed by a 27-year old Iraq combat vet to the families of the 13 people who lost their lives in the Interstate 35W bridge collapse more than two months ago. There are random acts of kindness. This one was deliberate. This one, if you need a Hollywood descriptor, could be coined “Flags of Our Fallen.” But whatever and however you spin this, do call it something special — a soldier in the midst of the flaring conflict in Iraq who took time to remember a tragedy close to home. ”To think, what this young man did, while he himself was in harm’s way,” said Ron Engebretsen, the husband of Sherry Engebretsen, one of the 13 bridge victims. ”This does help in our grief,” he added. “And what better way than an American flag, the symbol of our nation, to honor the victims?”  Nathan asked that his last name be withheld because he is engaged in a sensitive military assignment that could place him as well as family members here in potential jeopardy.  He enlisted in the Marine Corps after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. At the time, he was attending the University of Minnesota and working as an intern with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Financial Litigations division.  “I was interested in the military and serving my country,” said Nathan, who comes out of Marine central casting — clean-cut and dripping with a patriotism that would sound unabashedly hokey if not for his earnest demeanor.  Assigned to support a Marine battalion in Iraq that is based out of Hawaii, Nathan was taken aback when he got an e-mail from a family member telling him about the bridge collapse. As a Minneapolis resident and college student, Nathan has many times traversed the bridge that collapsed.  “I was planning to fly a flag for my family members,” recalled Nathan. “But I decided that instead of doing that, I would fly a flag for each of the victims.”  He went to the nearest base commissary in Iraq and purchased 13 flags at $14 a pop.  The lone Minnesotan among his immediate 22-member outfit and overall 90-member division, Nathan said he had no trouble enlisting help and support from colleagues.  “They understood, as I did, that this was not just about Minneapolis or Minnesota, but it was something that affected the whole nation, even among us in Iraq,” Nathan said.  He flew the first flag on Aug. 1 — the day of the tragedy here but the second day in Iraq — in honor of Julia Blackhawk. He raised the last flag on Aug. 13 for another victim, Scott Sathers.  Nathan, who recently wrapped up his second tour in Iraq and has plans to attend business graduate school at the U’s Carlson School of Management, did not want to make a big deal out of his gesture.  He mailed the flags before his arrival here. He contacted Red Cross officials to see whether they could help him mail the flags to the families. The Red Cross folks thought this deserved much more recognition. The overwhelming majority of the families agreed.  They showed up yesterday, wounds still fresh, the grieving still very much alive.  Joy Blackhawk, Julia’s mom, was the first to come up to receive the flag in honor of her daughter.  “I appreciate what he did,” she said later in the hallway after the ceremony. “He has become a part of us all.”  Many of the male relatives who came up to accept the folded flags gave Nathan a sturdy handshake. Some whispered in his ear.  “I appreciate your service to our country,” one was overheard saying.  A handshake did not cut it for most of the women. They gave the flush-faced and visually moved Marine a tearful hug. There were not too many dry eyes in the room.  This event could have easily backfired for the Red Cross as an unnecessary publicity stunt. It did not. Nathan’s gesture was heartily appreciated by most of those who lost loved ones in the collapse, even if the wounds are still fresh.  “I don’t know why he decided to do this, but I can say that I truly thank him for thinking of us,” said the wife of Artemio Trinidad Mena, 29, of Minneapolis, a produce truck driver.  Said the rest of the note:  “This flag was flown on … for the entire day. I have flown a flag every day for every person lost in the tragedy in hopes that it will serve as a symbol of hope and love from our nation.  “My condolences to your family.”  Nothing more need be said.  Ruben Rosario can be reached at rrosario@pioneerpress.com or 651 228-5454.               2 Photos: JOHN DOMAN, PIONEER PRESS 1) Marine 1st Lt. Nathan, last name withheld, hugs Pollee Chit after giving her a flag Monday that he had flown for her family in Iraq. Chit’s mom, Vera Peck, and brother Rich-ard Chit died in the I-35W bridge collapse. 2) Twelve of the 13 U.S. flags presented to families of the I-35W bridge victims in a ceremony at the Twin Cities Red Cross office in Minneapolis on Monday. Marine 1st Lt. Nathan, last name withheld, flew each of the flags over his encampment in Iraq for one day.