VETERAN VAPERS: PAUL LEWIS

It’s Memorial day, and we have something we hope our readers will find very fitting for this holiday. We brought in one of our current employees here at eJuices.com that also happens to be a veteran of our military for an interview, former MA2 (Master at Arms), Paul Lewis. He will be going over some of his time in the military, his motivations for joining the military, and how he feels about Memorial day. You may have also noticed our Military discount was bumped up to 35% for this month in recognition of the holiday, so if you are a veteran or currently serving in the military, feel free to use your military discount for some great savings.

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Hey Paul, thanks for joining me for this interview, we’ll jump right into things. What branch of the military did you serve in?
I served in the Navy.

What was your rank/role in the Navy?
I was an MA2 (Master at arms).

And how long did you serve?
I joined at the end of 2005, and I served 10 years. I’m from San Diego but lived most of my life in Rancho Cucamonga. I came back in 2008 and my brother passed away a few days later in a shooting.

That’s terrible, I’m sorry to hear that. So what does Memorial Day mean to you?
How can I explain this? I think of all the people who fought before me, and everyone who gave their lives. I really didn’t want to go to war, I wanted to be a part of something and when 9-11 happened I, like many others, was passionate about getting justice, and I just wanted to go over there and see it done. But when it came down to taking the test I wanted to just make a difference. I was supposed to be an operations specialist, but they changed my role after boot camp and instead of that job I was made military police. I did a couple of years of that and I switched to a search and rescue squadron.

During search and rescue, one of my friends, Michael, he got hit by an IED and I was one of the few people there to see what was going on. It blew his leg off and we took him to Germany and they took his other leg. Even after all of that, we got a call sometime later and he ended up passing away from his injuries.

When you were in the military, how did you spend your Memorial Day?
We would usually end up having a party, celebrating the day with our brothers in arms. We would have a barbecue, a few drinks, and an all-around good time. It was difficult at first, I was definitely a minority in my job, maybe one in ten people were black at the time and we didn’t always see things eye to eye. It took me a while to really start seeing things from their point of view, and then from my point of view. That’s where I really started to understand what brothers in arms meant, and where many of my morals stem from to this day.

If you could change one thing about the average citizen’s view of Memorial Day, what would it be?
I think too many people don’t understand Memorial Day, they don’t understand why we do it. They think it’s all or nothing, they think we’re out there to wear the uniform or shoot things, that’s not it at all, that’s not why we do it. I have a multi-ethnic family and half of them don’t understand why I joined the military or why I was over there “fighting someone else’s war.” If we don’t do it, if the people who are committed to it aren’t standing up to serve then they would have to open a draft. If that happened, we would have the wrong people going over to serve and causing more harm than good. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink. When you put a drafted citizen into the military, you have no idea how they are going to react when a child points a toy gun at them. You can’t just pull someone off the street and tell them to fight in a war. The stuff you see on television is nothing like it is out there, there aren’t Navy Seals everywhere fighting this war. Many people fighting aren’t trained to be shot at. You get hit by training munitions when you’re in training, they hurt but they are nothing like being shot at by real bullets.

Thank you for that detailed answer, what was the reason you joined the military in the first place?
The real reason, oh man, I got into some trouble, football wasn’t going the way I expected. It got down to a decision, either college, the streets, or the military. Military won. During the first three years, I was in, only my stepdad and uncle knew from my family, the rest of them thought I was spending time in Las Vegas. I showed up at home one day in uniform and half of my family was upset, while the other half were happy for me.

How long have you been vaping
I’ve been vaping for about 2 and a half years now

What is your favorite flavor?
Right now it’s definitely a tie between Burst Duo Peach Raspberry, and Strawberry Macaron by Dinner Lady. I prefer fruit flavors all around but some of them are just too strong and burn out your coil too fast.

What kind of mod/tank are you currently using?
Right now I’m vaping with a Voopoo Mod, I forget the name but it looks like a radio, and a Horizon Falcon Tank.

Did you use any alternate tobacco products before you started vaping?
I never smoked or used any tobacco products before vaping, I always hated the smell of smoke and it would make me cough. Vaping never makes me cough and it’s just a much more enjoyable experience without any of the bad taste/smell.

What is your opinion on the vape industry as a whole?
I think the industry is making a difference right now, I just wish there were more accepted studies and we had more information about it that was accepted in the scientific and health community. I hope vape ends up becoming the only real option for nicotine. It’s just a better experience all around, and instead of scaring people off with the nasty smell, vaping draws people in and makes them ask “Hey, that smells delicious, what flavor is that?”

Thanks for all the great answers Paul, I appreciate you taking the time to do this interview and providing some perspective on Memorial day from someone who served.
Yeah man, any time.

We really appreciate you all for taking the time to read this interview with one of our nation’s veterans. We are still collecting donations for our roundup for charity event, so consider donating when you place your next order by rounding up to the next dollar and all proceeds will be sent to Veterans Village Las Vegas. We here at eJuices.com hope you have a great Memorial Day.