Lewis was a fisherman. The sort of fishing he did is called purse seining. It is done at night, in darkness, as not to scare away the fish. One of the cables aboard this ship would often get caught due to a malfunction. One of the crew had to manually shove the cable overboard as to not upset either boat. A full set purse seine can weigh over 200 tons. Nobody wants to do this dangerous job, but being a peacekeeper, Lewis took it - it's part of fishing.
One beautiful, calm September night, the cable once again got too tight. Orders were shouted to give "slack". Something went terribly wrong. Lewis was thrown overboard in total darkness. Somehow he was found, but he wasn't responding. CPR was performed, the Coast Guard responded, but it was too late. Lewis was gone.
Lewis's wife Marilyn will never be the same. His children will grow up without him. His daughters won't have their Dad to walk them down the aisle. His son never got a chance to share a beer with him around a campfire.
Lewis just wanted to provide for his family the best way he knew how, but in one tragic moment he was taken from them. He was looking forward to being a grandfather. Instead his name is etched on a monument.