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Contact Info
Home Town Raeford, NC
Last Address Raeford, NC
Date of Passing Jan 11, 2009
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
This is to Certify that
The President of the United States of America
Takes Pride in Presenting
THE
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS
to
NEWMAN, JAMES T.
Other Comments:
For extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Troop C, 2d Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 101st Airborne Division. Major Newman distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 18 February 1971. His extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army. DAGO 23 May 30 72
Flight Class 65-14
NEW YORK (AP)
By RICHARD PYLE, Associated Press
— James T. Newman, a Vietnam War helicopter pilot whose rescues of downed airmen earned him the Distinguished Service Cross and other honors, has died. He was 73. Newman's son, Jay, said he died Sunday at the University of North Carolina medical center in Chapel Hill of complications associated with lung cancer.
Newman was twice nominated for the Medal of Honor, the highest military award for valor. While he did not receive that medal, he did get a Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second-highest award for combat valor, the Silver Star, four Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and 23 Air Medals, among others.
In an interview years later, the Georgia native said he could "get the shakes" in recalling such incidents although at the time he had felt "no fear." He first served in Vietnam in 1966, suffering a leg wound that nearly led to an amputation. Regaining flight status, he returned in 1970 as commander of C Troop, 2/17 Air Cavalry, 101st Airborne Division.
His first nomination for the Medal of Honor came in February 1971, when he rescued four U.S. crewmen from a crashed medevac helicopter on a mountaintop base in Laos where South Vietnamese Rangers were under heavy attack by North Vietnamese troops. The same week, he rescued two other downed pilots by chopping down small trees with his main rotor blade, an act that astonished helicopter experts but earned Newman a Silver Star.
Five months later, Newman rescued two more pilots injured in a crash near the Laotian border, spotting a flash from their signal mirror and extracting the men with seconds to spare. Richard Frazee, another former C Troop member, called Newman "a man of immeasurable courage who made us all feel invincible."
In 2000, Newman was inducted into the 101st Airborne Division's Hall of Fame at Fort Campbell, Ky. Burial will be in Arlington National Cemetery, the family said.
Vietnam War/Counteroffensive Phase VII Campaign (1970-71)
From Month/Year
July / 1970
To Month/Year
June / 1971
Description This campaign was from 1 Jul 1970 to 30 June 1971. Fighting continued in Cambodia during early February before and after South Vietnam began its U.S.-aided drive in Laos, Lam Son 719, the most significant operation during this campaign.
Lam Son 719 was conducted out of I Corps by Vietnamese troops with US fire and air support. Their object was to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail and to destroy enemy bases at Techepone, Laos. The operation consisted of four phases. In Phases I, called Operation DEWEY CANYON II, the 1st Brigade, US 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) occupied the Khe Sanh area and cleared Route No. 9 up to the Laotian border. In the meantime, the US 101st Airborne Division conducted diversionary operations in the A Shau Valley. The US 45th Engineer Group had the mission of repairing Route No. 9 up to the Laotian border. This lasted from 30 January to 7 February 1971. During Phase II US forces continued to provide fire support, helilift, and tactical and strategic air support for ARVN units. This phase was 8 February to March 1971. Phase III ran from March to 16 March 1971; Phase IV was the withdrawal phase.
Faced with mounting losses, Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Lam, the commander of the invasion forces, decided to cut short the operation and ordered a withdrawal.
Lam Son 719, though it was less than a signal success, forestalled a Communist offensive in the spring of 1971. Enemy units and replacements enroute south were diverted to the scene of the action.