Early Life and Call to Service

Harry William Lewis was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 18, 1892. Like so many young men of his generation, his life was dramatically altered by the outbreak of the First World War. In April 1918, at the age of twenty-five, Harry was inducted into the U.S. Army. He entered through the 152nd Depot Brigade at Camp Upton, Long Island, and began the process of becoming a soldier.

His service records trace a path typical of wartime manpower needs: assignments to the 301st Engineers, the 302nd Infantry, and eventually the 2nd Pioneer Infantry. The Pioneers, a hybrid unit of infantry and engineers, specialized in constructing roads, bridges, and fieldworks near the front. Harry was also sent to the Engineers’ Candidate School at Lagrasse, France, reflecting his technical aptitude and the military’s constant need for trained engineers. By the end of the war, he was back with the 2nd Pioneer Infantry, and then in June 1919 briefly attached to the 121st Engineers. On July 21, 1919, he was honorably discharged.

Though Harry’s time at the front was brief — the Armistice came within weeks of his arrival overseas — his months in Europe became remarkable not for combat, but for what followed: his role in a unique American experiment in sports diplomacy.

The AEF Athletic Program

When the guns fell silent on November 11, 1918, the AEF faced a challenge: how to occupy hundreds of thousands of restless soldiers while awaiting demobilization and transport home. General John J. Pershing, supported by the YMCA, turned to athletics. The result was the largest organized sports program the U.S. Army had ever attempted.

The plan was straightforward but ambitious:

1. Local tournaments at bases and sectors across France and occupied Germany.

2. Regional and sectional championships — winners advanced up the ladder.

3. AEF finals in Paris (May 1919) to crown champions in each sport.

4. Inter-Allied Games (June 22 – July 6, 1919) at Pershing Stadium, Paris, bringing together military athletes from 18 Allied nations in what was effectively an Olympic Games of the armies.

Among the sports chosen — football, boxing, track, rowing, swimming — was lawn tennis. It was here that Harry W. Lewis found himself not just a soldier, but a champion.

Tennis with the AEF

Harry was attached to Base Section No. 2 of the Services of Supply, headquartered in Bordeaux. There, at the Primrose Club, he competed in local tournaments that fed into the wider AEF system. His skill quickly stood out, and he was selected as part of the five-man Base Section 2 team.

In May 1919, Harry and his teammates traveled to the Biarritz Country Club on France’s southwestern coast for the sectional championships. It was here that Harry’s team triumphed. The Stars and Stripes reported on the “Bordeaux Tennis Team Triumphs at Biarritz”, a victory that earned them medals and advancement to the AEF finals in Paris. Harry’s medal — inscribed “Lawn Tennis Team Championships Winner — Base Sec. 2 S.O.S. — Pvt. Harry Lewis, 2nd Pioneer Infantry” — is a surviving token of that triumph.

Harry W Lewis Tennis Tournament Medal

Harry’s daughter, Jeanne Lewis Hayes, later recalled that her father was “oh so fond of Biarritz.” The picturesque seaside resort, with its elegant hotels and clay courts, made a lasting impression. For a young man from Brooklyn, the chance to compete on the same courts where European elites had played must have been unforgettable.

Paris and the AEF Finals

From Biarritz, Harry advanced to Paris for the AEF Tennis Finals at the famous Racing Club de France. A newspaper back home — the Brooklyn Daily Eagle of May 21, 1919 — proudly announced that “Harry Lewis of 1209 Eighth Ave is here to take part in the AEF tennis championship finals.”

The finals brought together the best soldiers from across the American forces in Europe. Alongside Harry were men who would become notable names in U.S. tennis, including Captain Watson Washburn and Lieutenant Dean Mathey, both of whom had been prominent collegiate players before the war. Washburn and Mathey eventually earned spots on the official American team for the Inter-Allied Games, even reaching the doubles final against Australia.

The Inter-Allied Games

The culmination of the AEF athletic program was the Inter-Allied Games, held June 22 – July 6, 1919 at the brand-new Pershing Stadium, a gift from the United States to France. Eighteen Allied nations sent 1,500 military athletes to compete before crowds that totaled over half a million spectators.

Tennis was contested at both the Racing Club de France and Stade Français. France’s André Gobert (a pre-war Wimbledon champion) won the singles, while the Australian duo of Randolph Lycett and Pat O’Hara Wood took the doubles. The U.S. pair Washburn and Mathey earned the silver in doubles, a strong showing against some of the world’s best.

Though Harry Lewis was not on the final five-man American squad that represented the U.S. at the Games, he had traveled the same path — from Bordeaux to Biarritz to Paris — that produced those champions. In doing so, he embodied the spirit of the AEF’s program: soldiers turned athletes, building goodwill through sport.

Homecoming and Legacy

By July 1919, Harry’s military service was winding down. On June 1, 1919, he was appointed a Second Lieutenant in the Engineers, though the Army quickly reduced its officer corps as the demobilization accelerated. On July 21, 1919, he was discharged at Camp Upton, the same place he had begun his military journey.

Harry returned to Brooklyn with more than memories of war; he brought home his medal, his stories, and his deep fondness for the places he had seen — especially Biarritz. In the years that followed, he married, raised a family, and spoke warmly of his time in France. To his daughter Jeanne, the tales of clay courts by the sea and the camaraderie of fellow soldiers on the tennis team were as much a part of his service as his engineer’s uniform.

Conclusion

Harry W. Lewis’s service in World War I was brief in combat terms but rich in meaning. He was part of a unique moment in history when sport became a tool of peace. The 1919 AEF tennis tournaments, culminating in the Inter-Allied Games, were not simply diversions for idle soldiers — they were an effort to heal a war-torn world.

From Bordeaux’s Primrose Club to the Biarritz Country Club, from the Racing Club de France in Paris to the newly built Pershing Stadium, Harry walked the same courts as some of the greatest players of his age. He may not have stood on the final podium, but he carried with him a championship medal, fond memories of the Riviera, and the knowledge that he had served his country not only as an engineer but as an athlete, representing America in the first great experiment of sports diplomacy.