By Mark D. Faram - Staff writer, Navy Times Posted : Saturday Oct 4,
2008 6:23:43 EDT

Most Americans know actor Paul Newman had an Academy Award to his
credit, but few know his list of awards also include a Navy Combat
Action Ribbon and the coveted Combat Aircrew Wings he got while serving
as an aviation radioman and aerial gunner during World War II.

Newman, 83, died Sept. 26 after a long battle with cancer.

According to information provided by Navy Personnel Command and the
Naval Historical Center, the future blue-eyed actor enlisted in the Navy
on Jan. 22, 1943 - four days before his 18th birthday - with the hopes of
becoming an officer and an aviator flying off carriers.

While waiting for his application for officer training to go through,
Newman attended Ohio University in Athens.

When his approval came through, he was ordered to report on July 1 to
the Navy V-12 program at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. His hopes
for a commission and pilot's wings were dashed four months later after a
flight physical discovered he was colorblind.

Instead, he was shipped a few miles down the road to the Navy's boot
camp at Newport, R.I. Graduating three days after Christmas, Newman
was selected to train as an aviation radioman and reported to the
Naval Air Technical Training Center in Jacksonville, Fla., on Jan. 8, 1944.

He would not leave Jacksonville until July 20, having completed radio
school and qualified as an aerial gunner - enabling him to be aircrew on
carrier-based aircraft.

Aviation Radioman 3rd Class Newman spent a few months at Naval Air
Station Miami before transferring to NAS Barber's Point, Hawaii, where
he would serve in three Pacific-based replacement torpedo squadrons,
VT-98, VT-99, and VT-100.

While he was with VT-99, training personnel in TBM-1Cs, TBM-3s and
TBF-1cs, the squadron moved to Eniwetok, then to Guam, and in January
1945 on to Saipan. The squadron would ferry replacement pilots and
aircraft to carriers around the fleet.

Though Newman did see scattered combat, his closest brush with death
came in May 1945.

Operating from Saipan, Newman and a number of other aircrews from his
squadron had been ordered with their TBM Avenger aircraft to be
replacements onboard the Essex-class aircraft carrier Bunker Hill
operating off Okinawa. But Newman's pilot got sick, grounding the aircraft
and crew until he could recover.

Just days later, on May 11, two Japanese kamikaze aircraft hit the ship
within 30 seconds and in the resulting fires and explosions 346 sailors
were killed - among them, the entire contingent from Newman's squadron.

A VT-99 contingent including Newman was aboard the escort carrier
Hollandia, which was operating about five hundred miles off Japan when
the Enola Gay dropped its atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

Returning home after the Japanese surrender, Newman served
with Carrier Aircraft Service Unit 7 in Seattle, Wash. before
being discharged Jan. 21, 1946.

Along with his aircrew wings and CAR, he was also awarded the Good
Conduct Medal, the American Area Campaign Medal, the Asiatic Pacific
Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.

_________________
Kirk Towner, RHD Datsun Dude
Fairlady 200ZL
Fairlady 200ZG
Fairlady Z31 Owners Japan
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Fresh Alloy Forum Chesapeake Bay Area Admin http://forums2.freshalloy.com/
"Love life, love people, love carZ"

He was an amazing individual...

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He also returned back here to Newport and stayed at the resort Castle hill. (just found this out a couple days ago.) So that's cool, I didn't know he trained here in Newport, where my father retired from. He also liked to play pranks, of course he was a humorous fellow, for instance, putting rocks in the directors hubcaps during the filming of Left Handed Gun, a Billy the kid story.

Thanks for that, Kirk. It lets us see Paul from yet another perspective.

Bob Sharp has some interesting stories about Paul Newman, too. During the 1970s and 80s, while the rest of the world was tripping over their tongues about Paul, Bob was teaching him how to race in the fastest C-Production cars in the world at that time. Having a world-renown Icon working for you would have been a challenge to most people, but Bob handled it well and Paul went on to win countless 1978/79 C-Production races in Bob's 280ZX car and sedans. (NOT something Bob can boast about concerning Top Gun star Tom Cruise, who ran very fast but kept forgetting to stop). Paul carved his name into the C-Production racing championship records, sometimes even beating the track record lap times set by his own boss, six-time SCCA Champion Bob Sharp. In the pits and paddock, Paul was a regular guy, who studied hard and learned well from the best race driver of his era.

Frank T

Thanks for the brief rundown on Paul's racing career under Bob's tutelage.

Cheers, Kirk

_________________
Kirk Towner, RHD Datsun Dude
Fairlady 200ZL
Fairlady 200ZG
Fairlady Z31 Owners Japan
AACA, WRZ, ECZA, ZCCNV, ZCCA
Fresh Alloy Forum Chesapeake Bay Area Admin http://forums2.freshalloy.com/
"Love life, love people, love carZ"

Kirk, when you get up here for the picnic, I want to personally introduce you to Bob Sharp. Bob has an interest in each of our members and always has a story or a personal perspective about our cars which we might not have heard before. (If I get super busy don't wait for me ~ just stick out your hand and meet Bob on your own. He's one of the friendliest, most-interesting people you'll meet this week).
It's my bet you two will spend a long time stuffing hotdogs down and swapping stories together.

(By the way, you should also make it a point to meet member Tom Wasney, who will be looking for some help with a hotdog problem this weekend).

Z ya there!
Frank T