Milton Lewis served in the United States Marine Corps and was awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart for valor during World War II. On the South Pacific island of Tulagi, he was charging a machine gun nest when he was mortally wounded. His relentless fighting spirit so inspired his men that they wiped out the entire Japanese emplacement. Lewis attended Gainesville High School, where he was a stand-out athlete who led the swimming and football teams. He enlisted in the Marine Corps on February 20, 1939, in the First Marine Division. He was the first person from Gainesville, Alachua County, to be killed in action during World War II. The U.S. Navy destroyer escort vessel DE 772, the USS Milton Lewis, was named in his honor, and he was buried in Gainesville's Evergreen Cemetery.