Lunch with a Hero..

[RobsIron]

Had lunch the other day with my 97-year-old friend retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Henry C. Newcomer. He graduated near the top of his West Point class and as Squad Leader flew B-26 bombers in World War II surviving 84 missions. Twice he was shot down and had to bail out, once right before hitting the ground.
He met his beautiful wife Paulette in Paris during the war and they are still married today. She told my brother and I in her french accent "He bombed the hell out of the Germans".
He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 15 oak leaf clusters, and the Presidential Unit Citation. After the war he continued his education at Berkeley becoming a nuclear and electrical engineer studying under J. Robert Oppenheimer, the inventor of the nuclear bomb.
He transitioned to flying jets and commanded several air wings and NORAD sectors throughout the world until he went to work for Bell Labs on top secret projects. He knew Generals Doolittle, Patton and Eisenhower.
He has taught Sunday school most of his life and was a top level tennis player and still plays today.
He's sharp as a tack with a great sense of humor and still commands a presence when he walks in the room. Henry is battling multiple myeloma cancer with Chemo treatments which he drives himself to every week...at 75 mph.

He is tough as nails with a gentle demeanor. A real true American Hero.

They don't make this kind of man anymore.

 

[dragrazor]

Thanks for sharing. Like you said, there aren't many left out there like him.


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[rmar]

God bless General Newcomer.
You are very fortunate Rob to have him for a friend. Man just the life experience he has had is mind blowing. I have met several honored gentlemen and have one for a friend and the true stories are just fascinating to say the least.

 

[hungerbuhler1]

Its truly awesome to here the stories someone like that has. My grandfather is 96 and was a Marine. He was in multiple wars and the stories are incredible. Very sharp man too. What I don't get is now days soldiers in the war come back with all these mental issues and are checked out. Where these guys just tougher or did they not see same stuff? Or was there a bunch and I just don't hear those stories? I always want to ask him but don't.

 

[SCOOBY DOO]

Great post...thanks for sharing.

 

[faster]

Thanks for sharing. Always great to find these guys and talk to them.

Dad is 88 and survive D-Day the Battle of the Bulge and Herckten Forest. The stories are incredible.

The University of Florida has been building a video library of these guys for ten years. Dad was interviewed for 16 hours, I hope he was interviewed, you need to find out, I will get the contact information from dad. The videos of these guys telling their stories is just amazing.

Mikey

 

[trixdout]

Definitely a great man. He looks great for 97.


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[Red C5]

Always cool to spend time with people like that, 84 mission wow!

 

[turbo nasty]

Hoorah!!! Great guy...what a generation. Thanx for your service Gen

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[RobsIron]

Thanks all of you for the kind words. Here's a little more about Gen Newcomer.

I met him in 1987. He was a real estate agent for Watson reality. I installed a very intrique security and automatic lighting system for him. Being an engineer he watched our every move and taught us a few things also. He looked at a light that was on and said "I can tell you why(not how) that light is on". It just blew our minds.

He has been my customer for over 25 years and I have just recently been spending some time with him. I regret not taking advantage of his presence earlier.

On one visit he told me about one of the 2 times he had to bail out of his shot up aircraft. Being the leader of the crew he made sure all were out and he went for the door and his backpack parachute snagged something. He said he calmly sat back down and figured this was it. Then he heard a voice telling him to get up NOW! He did and was able to escape just before the plane hit the ground.

I asked him if he ever met Patton. He told of a conversation he had with him. At that time he was engineering temporary bridges for tanks to cross. The tank drivers would hit the bridges hard and rock the entire structure. They would also twist and turn while on the bridge. He went to Patton and asked him to train the tank drivers to not enter the bridges so fast and to go straight with little side to side steering. He said it was a very short conversation when Patton replied "You just build the damn bridges to get my tanks across and I'll handle the rest!"

Just recently he flew to France all by himself to visit his daughter and he said he is making plans to be at his grandsons wedding in Aug 2014! All the while taking once a week chemo treatments that make him very ill. At our lunch the other day he had just received a treatment the day before. When picked him up he said with a smiling face that he had severe diarrhea the night before and that morning and just wanted to warn us in case he had an accident. We told him we could go another time, but he said no. He was looking forward to our lunch. There were no accidents.

We asked him what keeps him going and he replied "I have to stick around and do important jobs for Paulette(his wife) like open jars and cans". Hahaha.

One thing he said the other day that really stuck with me..."Hardship builds Character".

 

[TR Custom Parts]

Cool story! Thanks for posting.


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[RobsIron]

Oh man, I forgot to tell one of his best stories.

Just before he met his wife he took a girl out on a date. Right after they left to start the date he asked her if he will be getting a kiss at the end of the night. She said "No". He turned around and took her home. LMAO! I guess in the midst of a war you don't wanna waste any time..haha.

 

[x96283]

Please pass my regards, admiration and thanks... from a young buck who graduated 60 years after him Also neat to note that he is an Air Force officer and that the Air Force Academy had not yet been created when he graduated. The current and predominant sourcing for the AF is through their own academy.

There's a reason West Point is THE United States Military Academy.

--matt
USMA '99