His inexhaustible constitution to run and march long distances garnered him the honor of being selected to the first twelve-man team from LRRP to represent VII Corps and 7th Army in the International Invitational "Viertaagse," a 100 km four-day march held at Nijmegen, Holland, in August of 1964. It was sponsored by the Royal Netherlands Society for Physical Culture.

In this inaugural appearance, the select LRRP team finished ahead of the entire competition, which included over 400 U.S. soldiers and airmen. Shouting cadence and carrying bouquets of flowers handed to them by spectators, our troopers double-timed the last 100 yards past the reviewing stand to the applause and cheers of thousands. The team had won, with only "limited training": five 2½-hour marches with overweight packs. In the actual march, Jerry and his teammates marched 25 miles per day, carrying 30 lb packs.

The team consisted of Ssgt William Grimes (later MACV-SOG, Delta Force), Ssgt John O. Hansen, Ssgt "Zeke" Evaro (later S.F.), Sgt Lloyd Adams, Sgt Nick Kolovos (later S.F.), Sgt David H. Smith, Sgt Richard O’Connor, Sgt Franklin Jones, SP4 Maurice "Big Willie" Williams, and SP/4 Edgar Morales (later S.F.). They were led by Lt. William Schell, aka Lt. "Schnell." Many of these same men would do this event again, and, along with Jerry, they would again take the highest honors.

When the photograph of the team crossing the finish line appeared in the "Stars and Stripes" newspaper, the smiling face of Jerry D. Lewis loomed slightly above those of the others. He truly "stood tall." Little "Jerry" was no longer; "Big" Jerry was now.