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Newell Elliott Vinson was born in Philadelphia, PA, on 11 Feb
1929, to his beloved mother Marie and his proud father, Captain Thomas N.
Vinson, USNA 1914 and career naval officer. Although Newell chose West Point and
the Army, his life reflected his father’s quiet, competent professionalism and
dedicated service to country. His example of military service was, in turn,
followed by each of his four children. What higher tribute could any father
receive?
Newell’s earliest childhood memories were of Annapolis where his
father taught at the Naval Academy. In 1942, his family relocated to Coronado,
CA, while his father served at Pearl Harbor. Newell excelled in academics,
receiving a perfect score of 800 on his math SAT. The son of a star pitcher for
the Naval Academy, he also enjoyed and excelled in a wide variety of sports.
While living in Coronado, Newell found the climate and culture of southern
California irresistible—he returned often during his life. In 1945, his father
retired from the Navy, and the family returned to Annapolis.
Entering the University of Maryland, Newell majored in physics
for two years but, with some urging from his father, applied for a Presidential
appointment to West Point. He stood 11 out of 600 candidates and was admitted to
the Class of 1954.
A roommate remembers Newell as “a very bright person with a good
sense of humor who took everything in stride and was very calm under pressure.
He was well liked by his classmates and always had time to help them with their
course work.”
In December of his Plebe year, Newell’s mother passed away and
his father died six months later. In spite of these tragic personal losses,
Newell cruised through his years at West Point with one exception: German.
During his career, he twice attended the Army Language School in Monterrey, CA:
first for German and later for Arabic.
During the fall of his Firstie year, a roommate introduced Newell
to Patricia Whelan, the beautiful daughter of a former Ziegfeld Follies dancer
and a police officer from Yonkers, NY. They soon fell in love and were married
in Yonkers over the 1954 Labor Day weekend.
Newell chose Armor branch and began 30 years of devoted service
that kept his family on the move—Pat counted 23 moves. Most significant were the
times spent at Ft. Hood, TX, where their first child, David ex-’79 was born in
1955; West Point, where Pat gave birth to Mark ’78 in 1956 while en route to
Germany; Germany, where daughter Patricia was born in 1958, and Ft. Leavenworth,
KS, where Douglas ’89 completed the family in 1967.
In 1962, Newell earned a masters degree in mechanical engineering
at the University of Southern California, followed by assignment to the Earth,
Space, and Graphic Science Department at West Point. During that tour, Newell
earned a second masters degree in geography from Columbia University.
In 1965, Newell served for 13-months in Korea as a tank battalion
executive officer, while Pat cared for their family in Highland Falls, NY. In
1967, Newell attended Command and General Staff College and enjoyed time with
the family, coaching his kids’ swimming and baseball teams, and playing golf.
After promotion to lieutenant colonel and another year teaching at West Point,
Newell received orders for Viet Nam.
Newell commanded the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry, of the 1st
Infantry Division through significant combat, for which he was awarded the
Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medals for Valor (4),
Air Medals (5), and the Combat Infantryman Badge. His son, Mark observed that
his dad’s deep pride in his unit was only matched by his deep regret at the loss
of some of his soldiers. Years later, Newell attended and became very active in
the Bamboo Bridge organization, founded to help combat veterans receive support,
healing, and recognition.
Starting in 1970, Newell received successive assignments in the
Washington, DC, area, including a year at the Industrial College of the Armed
Forces, and spent his summers as a volunteer judge for the children’s swim
league and playing golf!
According to classmate John Ballantyne, “What we remember most
about Newell was that he was a great family man, loved his children dearly, and
always arranged lots of outings and activities for the youngsters.”
After assignments in Saudi Arabia and San Francisco, Newell
retired as a colonel in 1984, after 30 years of dedicated military service.
After four years as a program manager for defense systems with Teledyne, mostly
in the Middle East, he retired for good and settled in Thousand Oaks, CA, until
Pat was diagnosed with terminal cancer a year later. Pat took her diagnosis with
the same faith, strength and perseverance that served her through so many
demanding years as an Army wife. Newell spent the next six years lovingly caring
for Pat until, in 1995, her death ended their 41 years of marriage. With Pat’s
interment in Arlington Cemetery, Newell decided he would remain in the
Washington, DC, area.
In 1997, Newell married Frances Poli, Pat’s cousin whom he
originally met at his wedding 43 years earlier. Newell enjoyed discovering the
unique aspects of military life through the eyes of a true civilian; they
delighted in sparring over political issues and discovered a common love of
history and family. Their new life together was cut short on 20 Mar 2004, when
Newell died at his home of a heart attack.
Newell and Pat’s legacy includes four adult children and eight
grandchildren; all raised with a strong faith, love of country and sense of
purpose. With Frances, the family circle grew to include her three adult
children and five grandchildren. Newell cherished them all.
Newell has taken his special place in the Long Gray Line. He was
loved and revered by his family and admired and respected by his soldiers and
superiors. “Well done; Be thou at peace.”
— His family and friends
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