Noted veteran volunteer dies in Ocala

Retired Marine and Purple Heart recipient Cpl. Lewis Alston speaks during the Marion County Veterans POW/MIA recognition day at the Ocala/Marion County Veterans Memorial Park on September 19, 2020. [Alan Youngblood/special to the Ocala Gazette)

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Posted November 21, 2023 | By Susan Smiley-Height, susan@magnoliamediaco.com

If you have ever attended a ceremony at the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park in Ocala, there’s a very good chance you saw Lewis Alston in action.

Alston, a veteran of the U. S. Marine Corps, was often there in uniform. He may have been playing the bugle, commanding a rifle team, placing a wreath or speaking at a podium.

He also was a longtime and devoted member of the Marion County Memorial Honor Guard (MCMHG), which provides ceremonial funeral honors and assistance to military veterans and their families during their time of need.

Alston, who joined the Marine Corps in 1969, served as a scout in Vietnam in 1970 with the 1st Marine Division/1st Reconnaissance Battalion. He died Nov. 18 in Ocala. He was 72.

The Pennsylvania native had lived in Ocala for eight years, with his wife of 10 years, Lorraine Alston. He had four children, three of whom remain in Pennsylvania, and one lives in Georgia, she said.

Lorraine said her husband had “bad arthritis” and that they wanted to escape the harsh northern winters.

“We wanted to be in a warmer climate. We looked at different states—Arizona, Florida, New Mexico. Something just drew us to Florida. And we studied about storms and Ocala had the highest elevation,” she shared. “He also loved scuba diving, which was another reason to move to Florida.”

She said that “almost immediately” after arriving in Ocala, her husband started to volunteer at the veterans’ park and soon after that he joined the honor guard.

Steve Petty, who was a captain in the U.S. Army, served on the MCMHG with Alston.

“Lewis was a wonderful man, and we already miss him,” Petty said on Tuesday. “He was very important to our veteran’s society here and he was very involved in the honor guard and was at almost every vet’s service around. Anytime a program was going on at the veterans’ park, he was there to meet and greet people. He was a volunteer who was 100 percent into veterans.”

Petty said his friend and comrade suffered from cancer and had recently had a stroke.

“He was a boots-on-the-ground Marine in Vietnam and was exposed to Agent Orange,” Petty said. “He received a Purple Heart with a commendation for valor. He was a special, special man.”

Petty said Alston participated in “over 800 services with the Marion County Memorial Honor Guard,” many of which took place at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, in Sumter County.

“He performed all of the different positions,” Petty said. “Everything from firing teams to folding the flag, to bugle, to presentations to families. Lewis loved being Sergeant of the Guard, where he was in charge of the rifle team.”

Before he moved to Florida, Alston had also been active with veterans’ initiatives in Pennsylvania, including a memorial honor guard.

“It’s one of those labors we are all honored to do,” said Petty. “Lewis often said that he got back more than he gave because of the honor paid to the veteran and the response from the families.”

Petty said Alston was, “Just a phenomenal man who had no ambition to be recognized. He had done an awful lot of things, and he could have tried to elevate himself, but he didn’t. He was a good friend to all of us.”

Lorraine Alston said her husband was “a funny man. He made everyone laugh. He made everyone feel loved. He was a very caring man.”

“He loved life and enjoyed life,” she added. “He liked to ride his Harley-Davidson Wide Glide motorcycle, which he named Marine One.”

Funeral services for Alston will be held Dec. 1 in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. A memorial service will be held in Ocala at a later date.

Jeffrey Askew is the director of Marion County Veterans Services, which has a campus adjacent to the veterans’ memorial park.

“I am at a loss for words,” Askew said on Tuesday. “Lewis was a pillar in our veterans’ community. He and his dedication to veterans and their families will be missed.”

“Lewis was one of those guys who was there anytime you needed him, and you didn’t have to be a vet, Petty said. “But if you were a vet, he ran twice as fast.”