I found this newspaper article in a collection of clippings a woman kept in her scrapbook. It touched me deeply and when I found out James and his parents had no memorial on Find A Grave, I decided to make them. James was an American hero who suffered and died from effects of the Bataan Death March to keep us free.
GALLANT BATAAN SURVIVOR DIES
Cpl. James E. Newman Finally Succumbs To Diseases
FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 4. - (AP) - The gallant soldier who survived three years of hell in Japanese prison camps died yesterday after 31 days of heaven at home.
Cp. James E. Newman, 25, whose fight against disease touched the heart of the nation, just couldn't battle one more malady.
Newman, the soldier who came home to die, suffered an asthmatic spasm yesterday morning.
His doctor relieved this with an increase of oxygen, and gave him a stimulant. The young soldier went into a sound slumber. He did not recover consciousness, and died at 6:30 p.m. (EWT) "from sheer exhaustions," the doctor said.
There was momentary hysteria in the little house where hopes had been high that he would recover.
His mother, who had said "the Lord will see him through the rest of the day," collapsed with grief.
His brothers stood with tears in their eyes as they arranged for his funeral Monday afternoon at the Riverside Assembly of God Church here. Military rites are planned. Newman will be buried in his uniform.
Only the grayhaired father, O.F. Newman, gave no sign of sorrow. He had realized that the cards of fate had been stacked too heavily against his son.
Doctors on two hemispheres had given up hope.
First, doctors at army hospitals in New Guinea told him his case was hopeless. Beri beri, starvation diets, lack of proper medical treatment had brought tuberculosis of the throat, lungs and stomach.
But Newman wouldn't give up. He wanted to come home to the little white cottage here he had left seven years before.
He said his mother's cooking might do more than medicine.
He was returned to the United States, but again doctors shook their heads. His six-foot-two-inch frame had wasted to 92 pounds. Once he weighed 170.
On July 2, he came home by plane. He was carried into his old room on a stretcher. But he was grinning and was wearing a civilian hat jauntily cocked over one ear.
He began another gallant fight for life. The nation heard of it and crowded his little room with gifts, flowers and 8,500 letters.
"The Lord has brought him this far," Mrs. Newman said then. "The Lord will take him the rest of the way."
For a while he seemed to improve. He ate his mother's fried chicken, and blackeyed peas, and biscuits, and all the things he had liked as a boy. He ate ice cream and thick slices of feathery cake. He was in high spirits.
A Fort Worth physician said he had a faint chance to survive.
But shortly he began to lose ground. He lost his appetite. He was in continuous pain, which had to be blacked out with morphine. Still he smiled.
Then the Lord took Corporal Newman "the rest of the way."
Death Certificate states he died of "Pulmonary Tuberculosis" and was buried in the Garden of Memories Cemetery, Fort Worth (Now encompassed by Mt. Olivet). Funeral handled by Robertson-Mueller-Harper, Inc. There is some discrepancy as to his date of birth. The 1930 Tarrant Co. Census and Texas birth records Index state He was born July 7, 1925. His Army enlistment records state 1921. All were found on Ancestry. His death certificate and headstone states he was born June 25, 1920. The above article agrees with that date. I went with what was on the headstone.
Time Magazine, July 23, 1945, Page 26 says he joined the army at 18, served two years at Fort Sill, OK then was sent to Manila in 1940. He was liberated from Cabanatuan in January, 1945.
Upon further research, I found that he did not remember the last five hours of the Bataan Death march. During the three years of captivity at Luzan, he constantly prayed he would see his home again. He made it home and to anyone who would ask, he would say, I am trusting the Lord, and I know He will answer prayer. After his death and large funeral, his parents received many cards and letters from around the country stating how they were lead to Christ by hearing about him and reading his story in the papers.
Jim also loved to golf and swim. While in the prison camp, James befriended a fellow prisoner, Norman Charles Brown. The two made a pact that if one didn't make it, the other would visit their mother. Norman read about James in the papers, but was unable to get a message to him before James fell into a coma. Norman kept his word and visited James' mother the mother's day after James' death. Unfortunately, in 1949, Norman died in an auto accident. His memorial number is: 38193146.
GALLANT BATAAN SURVIVOR DIES
Cpl. James E. Newman Finally Succumbs To Diseases
FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 4. - (AP) - The gallant soldier who survived three years of hell in Japanese prison camps died yesterday after 31 days of heaven at home.
Cp. James E. Newman, 25, whose fight against disease touched the heart of the nation, just couldn't battle one more malady.
Newman, the soldier who came home to die, suffered an asthmatic spasm yesterday morning.
His doctor relieved this with an increase of oxygen, and gave him a stimulant. The young soldier went into a sound slumber. He did not recover consciousness, and died at 6:30 p.m. (EWT) "from sheer exhaustions," the doctor said.
There was momentary hysteria in the little house where hopes had been high that he would recover.
His mother, who had said "the Lord will see him through the rest of the day," collapsed with grief.
His brothers stood with tears in their eyes as they arranged for his funeral Monday afternoon at the Riverside Assembly of God Church here. Military rites are planned. Newman will be buried in his uniform.
Only the grayhaired father, O.F. Newman, gave no sign of sorrow. He had realized that the cards of fate had been stacked too heavily against his son.
Doctors on two hemispheres had given up hope.
First, doctors at army hospitals in New Guinea told him his case was hopeless. Beri beri, starvation diets, lack of proper medical treatment had brought tuberculosis of the throat, lungs and stomach.
But Newman wouldn't give up. He wanted to come home to the little white cottage here he had left seven years before.
He said his mother's cooking might do more than medicine.
He was returned to the United States, but again doctors shook their heads. His six-foot-two-inch frame had wasted to 92 pounds. Once he weighed 170.
On July 2, he came home by plane. He was carried into his old room on a stretcher. But he was grinning and was wearing a civilian hat jauntily cocked over one ear.
He began another gallant fight for life. The nation heard of it and crowded his little room with gifts, flowers and 8,500 letters.
"The Lord has brought him this far," Mrs. Newman said then. "The Lord will take him the rest of the way."
For a while he seemed to improve. He ate his mother's fried chicken, and blackeyed peas, and biscuits, and all the things he had liked as a boy. He ate ice cream and thick slices of feathery cake. He was in high spirits.
A Fort Worth physician said he had a faint chance to survive.
But shortly he began to lose ground. He lost his appetite. He was in continuous pain, which had to be blacked out with morphine. Still he smiled.
Then the Lord took Corporal Newman "the rest of the way."
Death Certificate states he died of "Pulmonary Tuberculosis" and was buried in the Garden of Memories Cemetery, Fort Worth (Now encompassed by Mt. Olivet). Funeral handled by Robertson-Mueller-Harper, Inc. There is some discrepancy as to his date of birth. The 1930 Tarrant Co. Census and Texas birth records Index state He was born July 7, 1925. His Army enlistment records state 1921. All were found on Ancestry. His death certificate and headstone states he was born June 25, 1920. The above article agrees with that date. I went with what was on the headstone.
Time Magazine, July 23, 1945, Page 26 says he joined the army at 18, served two years at Fort Sill, OK then was sent to Manila in 1940. He was liberated from Cabanatuan in January, 1945.
Upon further research, I found that he did not remember the last five hours of the Bataan Death march. During the three years of captivity at Luzan, he constantly prayed he would see his home again. He made it home and to anyone who would ask, he would say, I am trusting the Lord, and I know He will answer prayer. After his death and large funeral, his parents received many cards and letters from around the country stating how they were lead to Christ by hearing about him and reading his story in the papers.
Jim also loved to golf and swim. While in the prison camp, James befriended a fellow prisoner, Norman Charles Brown. The two made a pact that if one didn't make it, the other would visit their mother. Norman read about James in the papers, but was unable to get a message to him before James fell into a coma. Norman kept his word and visited James' mother the mother's day after James' death. Unfortunately, in 1949, Norman died in an auto accident. His memorial number is: 38193146.
I found this newspaper article in a collection of clippings a woman kept in her scrapbook. It touched me deeply and when I found out James and his parents had no memorial on Find A Grave, I decided to make them. James was an American hero who suffered and died from effects of the Bataan Death March to keep us free.
GALLANT BATAAN SURVIVOR DIES
Cpl. James E. Newman Finally Succumbs To Diseases
FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 4. - (AP) - The gallant soldier who survived three years of hell in Japanese prison camps died yesterday after 31 days of heaven at home.
Cp. James E. Newman, 25, whose fight against disease touched the heart of the nation, just couldn't battle one more malady.
Newman, the soldier who came home to die, suffered an asthmatic spasm yesterday morning.
His doctor relieved this with an increase of oxygen, and gave him a stimulant. The young soldier went into a sound slumber. He did not recover consciousness, and died at 6:30 p.m. (EWT) "from sheer exhaustions," the doctor said.
There was momentary hysteria in the little house where hopes had been high that he would recover.
His mother, who had said "the Lord will see him through the rest of the day," collapsed with grief.
His brothers stood with tears in their eyes as they arranged for his funeral Monday afternoon at the Riverside Assembly of God Church here. Military rites are planned. Newman will be buried in his uniform.
Only the grayhaired father, O.F. Newman, gave no sign of sorrow. He had realized that the cards of fate had been stacked too heavily against his son.
Doctors on two hemispheres had given up hope.
First, doctors at army hospitals in New Guinea told him his case was hopeless. Beri beri, starvation diets, lack of proper medical treatment had brought tuberculosis of the throat, lungs and stomach.
But Newman wouldn't give up. He wanted to come home to the little white cottage here he had left seven years before.
He said his mother's cooking might do more than medicine.
He was returned to the United States, but again doctors shook their heads. His six-foot-two-inch frame had wasted to 92 pounds. Once he weighed 170.
On July 2, he came home by plane. He was carried into his old room on a stretcher. But he was grinning and was wearing a civilian hat jauntily cocked over one ear.
He began another gallant fight for life. The nation heard of it and crowded his little room with gifts, flowers and 8,500 letters.
"The Lord has brought him this far," Mrs. Newman said then. "The Lord will take him the rest of the way."
For a while he seemed to improve. He ate his mother's fried chicken, and blackeyed peas, and biscuits, and all the things he had liked as a boy. He ate ice cream and thick slices of feathery cake. He was in high spirits.
A Fort Worth physician said he had a faint chance to survive.
But shortly he began to lose ground. He lost his appetite. He was in continuous pain, which had to be blacked out with morphine. Still he smiled.
Then the Lord took Corporal Newman "the rest of the way."
Death Certificate states he died of "Pulmonary Tuberculosis" and was buried in the Garden of Memories Cemetery, Fort Worth (Now encompassed by Mt. Olivet). Funeral handled by Robertson-Mueller-Harper, Inc. There is some discrepancy as to his date of birth. The 1930 Tarrant Co. Census and Texas birth records Index state He was born July 7, 1925. His Army enlistment records state 1921. All were found on Ancestry. His death certificate and headstone states he was born June 25, 1920. The above article agrees with that date. I went with what was on the headstone.
Time Magazine, July 23, 1945, Page 26 says he joined the army at 18, served two years at Fort Sill, OK then was sent to Manila in 1940. He was liberated from Cabanatuan in January, 1945.
Upon further research, I found that he did not remember the last five hours of the Bataan Death march. During the three years of captivity at Luzan, he constantly prayed he would see his home again. He made it home and to anyone who would ask, he would say, I am trusting the Lord, and I know He will answer prayer. After his death and large funeral, his parents received many cards and letters from around the country stating how they were lead to Christ by hearing about him and reading his story in the papers.
Jim also loved to golf and swim. While in the prison camp, James befriended a fellow prisoner, Norman Charles Brown. The two made a pact that if one didn't make it, the other would visit their mother. Norman read about James in the papers, but was unable to get a message to him before James fell into a coma. Norman kept his word and visited James' mother the mother's day after James' death. Unfortunately, in 1949, Norman died in an auto accident. His memorial number is: 38193146.
GALLANT BATAAN SURVIVOR DIES
Cpl. James E. Newman Finally Succumbs To Diseases
FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 4. - (AP) - The gallant soldier who survived three years of hell in Japanese prison camps died yesterday after 31 days of heaven at home.
Cp. James E. Newman, 25, whose fight against disease touched the heart of the nation, just couldn't battle one more malady.
Newman, the soldier who came home to die, suffered an asthmatic spasm yesterday morning.
His doctor relieved this with an increase of oxygen, and gave him a stimulant. The young soldier went into a sound slumber. He did not recover consciousness, and died at 6:30 p.m. (EWT) "from sheer exhaustions," the doctor said.
There was momentary hysteria in the little house where hopes had been high that he would recover.
His mother, who had said "the Lord will see him through the rest of the day," collapsed with grief.
His brothers stood with tears in their eyes as they arranged for his funeral Monday afternoon at the Riverside Assembly of God Church here. Military rites are planned. Newman will be buried in his uniform.
Only the grayhaired father, O.F. Newman, gave no sign of sorrow. He had realized that the cards of fate had been stacked too heavily against his son.
Doctors on two hemispheres had given up hope.
First, doctors at army hospitals in New Guinea told him his case was hopeless. Beri beri, starvation diets, lack of proper medical treatment had brought tuberculosis of the throat, lungs and stomach.
But Newman wouldn't give up. He wanted to come home to the little white cottage here he had left seven years before.
He said his mother's cooking might do more than medicine.
He was returned to the United States, but again doctors shook their heads. His six-foot-two-inch frame had wasted to 92 pounds. Once he weighed 170.
On July 2, he came home by plane. He was carried into his old room on a stretcher. But he was grinning and was wearing a civilian hat jauntily cocked over one ear.
He began another gallant fight for life. The nation heard of it and crowded his little room with gifts, flowers and 8,500 letters.
"The Lord has brought him this far," Mrs. Newman said then. "The Lord will take him the rest of the way."
For a while he seemed to improve. He ate his mother's fried chicken, and blackeyed peas, and biscuits, and all the things he had liked as a boy. He ate ice cream and thick slices of feathery cake. He was in high spirits.
A Fort Worth physician said he had a faint chance to survive.
But shortly he began to lose ground. He lost his appetite. He was in continuous pain, which had to be blacked out with morphine. Still he smiled.
Then the Lord took Corporal Newman "the rest of the way."
Death Certificate states he died of "Pulmonary Tuberculosis" and was buried in the Garden of Memories Cemetery, Fort Worth (Now encompassed by Mt. Olivet). Funeral handled by Robertson-Mueller-Harper, Inc. There is some discrepancy as to his date of birth. The 1930 Tarrant Co. Census and Texas birth records Index state He was born July 7, 1925. His Army enlistment records state 1921. All were found on Ancestry. His death certificate and headstone states he was born June 25, 1920. The above article agrees with that date. I went with what was on the headstone.
Time Magazine, July 23, 1945, Page 26 says he joined the army at 18, served two years at Fort Sill, OK then was sent to Manila in 1940. He was liberated from Cabanatuan in January, 1945.
Upon further research, I found that he did not remember the last five hours of the Bataan Death march. During the three years of captivity at Luzan, he constantly prayed he would see his home again. He made it home and to anyone who would ask, he would say, I am trusting the Lord, and I know He will answer prayer. After his death and large funeral, his parents received many cards and letters from around the country stating how they were lead to Christ by hearing about him and reading his story in the papers.
Jim also loved to golf and swim. While in the prison camp, James befriended a fellow prisoner, Norman Charles Brown. The two made a pact that if one didn't make it, the other would visit their mother. Norman read about James in the papers, but was unable to get a message to him before James fell into a coma. Norman kept his word and visited James' mother the mother's day after James' death. Unfortunately, in 1949, Norman died in an auto accident. His memorial number is: 38193146.
Inscription
Rest in Peace.
Gravesite Details
Thanks to all who have left flowers for this hero and a special thanks to Laura Flores for taking headstone photos for his and his parents' graves! Another special thank you to Alice Morton for sponsoring this hero's memorial. Thanks to all of you.
