A native of the state of Washington, Colonel Shattuck was educated there until his enlistment in the Air Force in 1952. He graduated from Aviation Cadet school in 1954 and served in both Japan and Italy as well as various posts in the U.S. He volunteered for duty in Southeast Asia and was accepted in February 1966.
“Colonel Shattuck flew forty-two missions in North Vietnam and twenty-one in Laos. He was shot down on July 1, 1966, but made it to about seventeen miles out to sea to be rescued by an SA16 and then was shot down again. He made his adjustment to prison life and decided at once that he actually did want to live to return to the great and glorious country of America.”
He was released on February 12, 1973, as part of Operation Homecoming.
Lewis Shattuck retired from the United States Air Force as a Colonel. He and his wife Sharon reside in Washington State.
Colonel Shattuck’s Silver Star was awarded for gallantry and intrepidity in action in connection with military operations against an opposing armed force during July 1966, while a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam. Ignoring international agreements on treatment of prisoners of war, the enemy resorted to mental and physical cruelties to obtain information, confessions, and propaganda materials. Lieutenant Colonel Shattuck resisted their demands by calling upon his deepest inner strengths in a manner which reflected his devotion to duty and great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
His Legion of Merit Medal was given for “His ceaseless efforts, by a continuous showing of resistance to an enemy who ignored all international agreements on treatment of Prisoners of War, in the extremely adverse conditions of the communist prisons of North Vietnam, demonstrated his professional competence, unwavering devotion, and loyalty to his country. Despite the harsh treatment through his long years of incarceration, he continued to perform his duties in a clearly exceptional manner which reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.” Shattuck also received 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses.
Sources: POW information from http://www.pownetwork.org/, Valor Award information from https://valor.militarytimes.com/
SHATTUCK, LEWIS WILEY
Name: Lewis Wiley Shattuck
Rank/Branch: United States Air Force/O3
Unit: Date of Birth:
Home City of Record:
Date of Loss: 11 July 1966
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 214500 North 1062000 East (Lang Song-60 Miles NE Hanoi)
Status (in 1973): Returnee
Category: Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F105D
Missions: 42 NVN 21 Laos
Other Personnel in Incident:
Refno: 0392 Source:
Colonel Shattuck flew forty-two missions in North Vietnam and twenty-one in Laos. He was shot down on July 1, 1966, but made it to about seventeen miles out to sea to be rescued by an SA16 and then was shot down again. He made his adjustment to prison life and decided at once that he actually did want to live to return to the great and glorious country of America.
“I find that I have come home with an awareness that I never had before, an appreciation for life that had escaped me. It is fascinating for me these days just to walk outdoors and to look around and to be able to see the clouds, to see the moon, and the fabulous fruits of our natural life – flowers, grasses, mountains, trees. “I believe I have gained an insight, not only into myself but into my fellow man as well. I’ve seen people in periods of fear and terror and extreme pain, and I guess living in those tight quarters for so long I have begun to understand the actions of people. I am fascinated these days to meet with people and to talk with people.
“I’ve come home with a patience that I never had before. I find that even in the heavy pace of life today, I’m generally relaxed and do not feel the press of ‘having’ to be here or ‘having’ to be there. I am better able to pace myself, far better able to cope with life today.
“I have a great appreciation for color; we were so starved for all those years. Our lives were devoid of color, and the brightness of this country, is so fascinating and so beautiful. Just before I go to sleep at night, I thank God for the beautiful days He has chosen to afford me and for the life He helped me to keep. I’ve found an awareness of God while I was over there that I had not had before.
“One more thought has come to me and that is the deep, deep love I have for this country, a love that grew out of the awareness that I’ve spoken about. I had time to sit and reflect about my life while in prison, to think about the future and about all the beautiful things in our country. Unfortunately, there are people who don’t realize what is about them; they don’t take the time to reflect on their lives as we were afforded the opportunity to do. They don’t look back to see where they’ve been, they don’t look forward to see where they are going. They are caught up with the press of the day … we had to see where we were going.
“I gained a deep, deep appreciation for this country, for the beauty of it, for the beauty of our way of life, the beauty in our form of government – a real tribute to a small group of men who sat down and drew up a document that was SO flexible, so capable of growing for future generations.
“My country is a mosaic or a kaleidoscope; in that mosaic, I see tiles of the Kansas wheat fields, of the California sequoias, the Douglas firs of Oregon and Washington, the pines of the East coast. I see the character of the waters change that surround our borders. I see the different soldiers that we’ve had in our time, each in their battle garb, marching off to defend that country, sometimes not understanding what it was all about, but going anyway, on the faith in our way of life. I see our succession of Presidents, congressmen, and officials that run this country. I see the frontiersmen, the Indians who had their own frontiers; the Africans who were brought as slaves but are now becoming a part of society; I see the Spanish people through California, New Mexico, and Arizona; I see the modern people who cross their own frontiers, frontiers of space, and medicine and progress. And when I look at my whole mosaic, I see that it is a rectangle with red and white stripes and a blue field of fifty stars.”
(Source: )Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. REMARKS: 730212 RELEASED
SOURCE: WE CAME HOME copyright 1977 Captain and Mrs. Frederic A Wyatt (USNR Ret), Barbara Powers Wyatt, Editor P.O.W. Publications, 10250 Moorpark St., Toluca Lake, CA 91602 Text is reproduced as found in the original publication (including date) spelling errors (corrected in this version).
Lewis Shattuck retired from the United States Air Force as a Colonel. He and his wife Sharon reside in Washington State.
