‘Somehow, I made it.’ Korean War vet, others honored at Stamford church service
Breath of Life Fellowship Seventh-Day Adventist Church recognized veterans in the community during Saturday's service.
More Stories
Breath of Life Fellowship Seventh-Day Adventist Church recognized veterans in the community during Saturday's service.
One of the veterans honored was retired Corporal James Lyles, who served in the Korean War.
"Veterans are a pilar of our society, without them we would not be here," said Pastor Rodney Grissom.
James Lyles was 19 years old when he and three other buddies, as a joke, decided to see if they could volunteer in the U.S. Army.
"Out of the four – I was the only one that passed," recalls Lyles.
At 20 years old he served in the Korean War.
"I could never forget the first person that I [saw] get killed," said Lyles. "We did what we had to do and somehow, I made it."
Lyles returned and reenlisted – serving three years in Georgia.
Life after the Army was tough, Lyles had a hard time finding a job and moved to live with his brother in Waterbury, CT.
He ended up running a record store on Main Street in Stamford for 27 years. When record sales dried up and the store closed, he then worked for Enterprise for 16 years and retired five years ago.
"I go to the veterans center and I go out to the park and that's it. I'm retired," said Lyles.
"If it wasn't for veterans like him, there wouldn't be veterans like me," said veterans advocate Thomas Patterson.
Lyles is 94 years old now and in good health. He says people always ask him if he would do it again and he says the answer is always yes.
"I always say, somehow I made it. Through the hard times, the cold weather, to see all of the things that I've seen," said Lyles.
