Lester and all five brothers in his family served in WWII. They were Lester, Arthur, George, Eugene, and Henry (killed in action, buried in France). Lester took basic training at Camp Joseph T. Robinson in Little Rock Arkansas. From there he went to Camp San Luis Obispo, California, Camp Rucker, Ozark, Alabama, and Camp Butner, North Carolina. He was married in Alabama in 1943. In May, 1944 he went to England aboard the SS Edmund B. Alexander and from there to Europe. Battles and campaigns that Lester was in were the Battle of the Bulge, Campaigns; Normandy, Northern France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland and Germany in the 161 Field Artillery. He received an American Defense Service Ribbon and a Good Conduct Medal. After the war, he worked for Seymour Packing Co. and for Belle Springs Creamery, Abilene, Kansas.