2016 Distinguished Alumni Honoree
Mr. Allen Luther Lewis, ‘61
Allen Luther Lewis graduated from OMA Junior College in 1961, received a bachelor’s degree in physics from Indiana University in 1963, an MBA in Economics from The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 1972, and completed the Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security from Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1993.
While at OMA he achieved the rank of Cadet Second Lieutenant and received the Outstanding Cadet Identification Disk, Academic Achievement Wreath, Merit Ribbon, Military Proficiency Ribbon, Top Military Science Award, Top Science Award, DA Superior Military School Cadet Medal, and the Association of the US Army Medal. He was on the Dean’s and President’s Honor Roll, and the New Cadet Detail. He was a member of the Chevron and Saber Society and the Sports Editor of the ’61 “Vedette.”
He was commissioned a Lieutenant of Artillery and entered active duty at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in September 1963, and served on Active Army for 28 years and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1991. Assignments included Germany (1964-67), South Vietnam (1967-68), South Korea (1972-73), and at several Army installation and other locations in the U.S. He was assigned to the Army Staff at the Pentagon (1982-83), where he was the Army’s focal point for Space Activities. He graduated from several Army schools, including the Field Artillery Officers Advanced Course, the Armed Forces Staff College, and the Army War College. His last assignment was as Chief of the Army Element, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force and the Senior Army Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space. Decorations received include the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters and was awarded the Army Staff Identification Badge and the Air Force Master Space Badge.
After retiring from the Army, Allen joined Lockheed Missiles and Space Company, in their Washington Operations Office in Washington, D.C. He retired in 2003, as Director, Advanced Space Programs, Space and Strategic Missiles Sector, Lockheed Martin Corporation Washington Operations.
Allen married Colleen Goeppner of Jasper, Indiana, on November 30, 1963. They have two sons: Allen II, born at Stuttgart, Germany in 1967, and Michael, born at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1969; and four grandchildren.