To applaud, to say thank you, and to make sure their deeds are not forgotten, Alan Archambault has written a book about one of his favorite subjects - Fort Lewis.   

To help preserve the role soldiers stationed at Fort Lewis played in resolving conflict worldwide from 1956 to 2010, Archambault wrote a book highlighting the role the local Army base had in the Cold War, in the Vietnam War, and in the war on terrorism.

"I wanted to pay homage to the veterans who served on the post during the years 1956 to 2010," Archambault said.

On Tuesday, May 24, Archambault will talk about his latest book, Fort Lewis: Cold War to War on Terror beginning at 7 p.m. at the Lakewood City Hall council chambers on 6000 Main Street.

"It's a way for people who have visited the post or served here or just want to know about it to have an easy to read and digest book on the history of the post," Archambault said.

Archambault's talk about his book is free and refreshments will be served. Archambault, the former curator of the Fort Lewis Museum, will also discuss plans for Joint Base Lewis McChord's upcoming commemoration of the centennial of Camp Lewis.

It's Archambault's second book on Fort Lewis. His first book, also published by Arcadia Publishing, concentrated on the history of the installation of the base before World War I.

As was his first book, Archambault's second book on Fort Lewis is primarily a picture book. By using over 200 photos and through photo captions, Archambault tells the story of Fort Lewis' accomplishments.

"It's easy to digest," Archambault said.

The book picks up in 1956 when the 4th Infantry Division came to Fort Lewis. They had nuclear capabilities with cannons.

"They were the latest and the greatest," Archambault said. "The Army was going into the modern age."

By the mid 60s, the focus changed to the Vietnam War. The Fourth Division went from training conventional and nuclear to training insurgent warfare.

"They did some training in the Olympic Peninsula in the rain forest to simulate Vietnam," Archambault said.

In 1972 when Vietnam was winding down, Archambault said the 9th Infantry Division was reactivated on Fort Lewis. Then in the early 1980s, they became a motorized division, and that's when they experimented with all the fast-attack vehicles.

"They became known as the toys-are-us division because they were playing with all this new equipment," Archambault said. "The 9th Division played a big role, basically, from 1972 to 1991 when they inactivated the 9th."

The royalties of Archambault's book go to the Fort Lewis Museum.

"It's the right thing to do," he said. "It's giving back. I believe in what the museum does, preserving the history of the installation and the people that served here. This is a small way of commemorating them."