James Foley Lewis (29 February 1944—18 April 1983) was an American
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
(CIA) officer killed in the
1983 United States embassy bombing
The April 18, 1983, United States Embassy bombing was a suicide bombing on the Embassy of the United States, Beirut, Embassy of the United States in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed 32 Lebanese, 17 Americans, and 14 visitors and passers-by. The vict ...
in
Beirut
Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
.
Early life
He was born in
Coffeeville, Mississippi
Coffeeville is a town in and one of two county seats of Yalobusha County, Mississippi, Yalobusha County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 905 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. It is named after John Coffee (1772–1833 ...
on 29 February 1944 to James Forrest Pittman and his wife Antoinette as James Forrest Pittman Jr. His father was serving as a paratrooper in the
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...
at the time of his birth. In 1952 Forrest Pittman abandoned his wife and their 4 children who subsequently moved to
Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport ( ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States, and its co-county seat. It had a population of 72,926 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Mississippi, second-most populous ...
. His mother remarried George Lewis in 1959 and James was adopted by his stepfather as James Foley Lewis.
Military career
Lewis joined the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
on 28 February 1962 and qualified as a
Green Beret
The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos, a special-forces unit active during World War II. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Roy ...
. In 1967 he was serving with the
MIKE Force
The Mobile Strike Force Command, or MIKE Force, was a key component of United States Army Special Forces in the Vietnam War. They served with indigenous soldiers selected and trained through the largely minority Civilian Irregular Defense Group ...
in South Vietnam. During his service in Vietnam, Lewis was awarded the
Combat Infantryman Badge
The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces (United States Army), Special Forces soldiers in the rank of Colonel (United States), colonel and below, wh ...
,
Bronze Star
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
Wh ...
4 times with
Combat V
Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is resorted to either as a method of s ...
Device, the
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
twice and the
Air Medal
The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.
Criteria
The Air Medal was establi ...
.
CIA career
Due to his experience in covert paramilitary operations, Lewis was recruited into the CIA in 1970.
In April 1975 Lewis was serving as an adviser to the
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; ) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Its predecessor was the ground forc ...
(ARVN) with his cover being as a consular officer at
Nha Trang
Nha Trang ( or ; ) is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hoà town, on the south by Cam Ranh city and on the west by Diên Khánh District. The city had ...
. As the
People's Army of Vietnam
The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...
(PAVN)
offensive
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive (military), type of military operation
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...
drew closer, he was captured together with ARVN Lieutenant General
Nguyễn Vĩnh Nghi
Nguyễn Vĩnh Nghi was a Lieutenant general in the South Vietnamese Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).
Early life and family
He was born in October 1932, in Gia Định (a district of Saigon). He graduated from a French program high school ...
near
Phan Rang Air Base
Phan Rang Air Base (also called Thành Sơn Air Base) is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) ''(Khong Quan Nhan Dan Viet Nam)'' military airfield in Vietnam. It is located north-northwest of Phan Rang – Tháp Chàm in Ninh Thuận Provi ...
on 16 April 1975. He was then transported north to
Sơn Tây prison camp
The Sơn Tây prison camp was a POW camp operated by North Vietnam near Sơn Tây, Hanoi, Sơn Tây and approximately 23 miles (37 km) west of Hanoi in the late 1960s through late 1970 and again in 1975. About 65 United States prisoners of w ...
where he underwent repeated interrogation, sleep deprivation and malnutrition. He was initially the only prisoner, being joined several months later by 13 others including Paul Struharik, an
AID
In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Th ...
official captured at Ban Me Thuot, Australian journalist Peter Whitlock, graduate student Jay Scarborough and missionaries John and Carolyn Miller and their 6 year old daughter Luanne. On 30 October 1975 Lewis and the other prisoners were transported by a UN-chartered
C-47
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for troo ...
to
Vientiane
Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...
,
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
and then on to
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. As author Kai Bird notes, he was "the last American prisoner of war to come home."
Following his return from Vietnam, Lewis attended
George Washington University
The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
where he studied French literature, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1977. During this time he met Monique Nuet, a Vietnamese-born pharmacologist and they were married in 1977.
In 1979 Lewis undertook Arabic language training in preparation for assignment to the Middle East. He was first assigned to
Tunis
Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
and was then transferred to Beirut on temporary assignment on 13 August 1982. Lewis was appointed as Deputy Station Chief while his wife Monique gained security clearance and was due to start work as a CIA secretary on 18 April 1983.
He was killed on 18 April 1983 when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb at the US Embassy in Beirut. A total of 63 people were killed in the explosion including his wife Monique, Robert Ames, Kenneth E. Haas (the CIA Lebanon station chief) and thirteen other Americans. He was buried at
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia.
...
with his wife Monique. He and his wife were only acknowledged as CIA employees in 2012, they are memorialized on the