OBITUARY: Lewis Hamilton Harding, Sr.

OBITUARY: Lewis Hamilton Harding, Sr. announces the death of Lewis Hamilton Harding, Sr., 87, who passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 25, 2026, in Cherokee, North Carolina. Born on August 2, 1938, Harding was an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and worked as a highly decorated naval aviator and community leader. He graduated from the University of Florida and entered the US Navy, completing the Navy JAG program, Naval Justice School, and the Naval Warfare Nuclear Weapons Program. Commissioned as a Naval Officer in September 1960, he served aboard the USS Shangri-La before completing flight training in August 1963 and becoming an attack pilot with VA-176 flying the Douglas A-1 Skyraider. Harding flew 80 combat missions, including an extended deployment during Yankee Station, and received awards including the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Carrier AirWing 10 “Top Gun” for air-to-ground weapons delivery. After active duty in late 1968, he became a commercial pilot for Eastern Airlines for 21 years, logging over 15,000 hours, and later bought the Homestead Motel in Wolftown, devoting decades to local tourism and civic roles. The article begins to detail his leadership positions, including involvement with the Cherokee Historical Association.