Louis J. Colwart Jr. was born in 1924, in Louisiana. He was the son of Louis William Colwart and Odile Rogers Colwart. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on November 25, 1942. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed in construction.

Colwart served in the 369th Bomber Squadron, 306th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Sergeant and Ball Turret Gunner on B17G "Susan Ruth" #42-31499 during World War II. He was Killed in Action on February 8, 1944, when his B-17 was attacked by two German ME 109s and was shot down and crashed near Macquenoise, Belgium. During the attack, Colwart's ball turret was struck by a burst of 20mm cannon shells and he was practically blown out of the plane. Sgt. Colwart is now buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, Neuville-en-Condroz, Arrondissement de Liège, Liège, Belgium, and was awarded the Air Medal and Purple Heart.