J.M.: How would you rank Meriwether Lewis among the military — the great military leaders of this county — as a soldier?

S.A.: At the top. I spent a lifetime with some very great men. I was close to Dwight Eisenhower. I know Colin Powell, well. There are many others. If I'm ever caught in a life threatening situation, the man, above all others, that I want to be with is Meriwether Lewis. Anytime I 'm in trouble, I would do whatever he told me to do instantly. I would never question those orders, I would just carry them out.

There is a wonderful scene when he was exploring up the Marias River. When he had fallen and damned near killed himself, in that sloppy mud that's up there, and he had a lot of adrenaline rush, and so on. One of the men with him slipped, and he was about to fall. And he cried out "Good God Captain, what shall I do?" That's me. If I'm in that kind of a difficulty, I want Captain Lewis to tell me what to do.

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