ROBERT W. NEWTON

NEWTON COL ROBERT NEWTON Recipient of the Legion of Merit Member of the Orange County Hunt COL Robert Winthrop Newton, USA (Ret.), 81, died August 21 2012 at Fauquier Hospital in Warrenton, VA. He died peacefully in his sleep surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren. Born in 1931 in Minneapolis, MN, to the late Kenneth Hudson and Edna Taylor Newton of Minneapolis and Montauk, MN, he followed his father into the Army at posts in Washington, DC, California and Arkansas. COL Newton graduated in 1955 from West Point, earned a Bachelors and Masters in Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech in 1963, and spent 25 years in the service. In 1968, while serving with the United States Army Board for Aircraft Accident Research, he was awarded the Legion of Merit for his investigation of helicopter crashes and development of retro-fit kits for fuel cells, which eliminated most crash fires. During his career, he served in Iran with MAAG assisting the Iranian Army in Kurdistan; in Viet Nam as battery commander with the 1st Cavalry Helicopter Division's 2nd Battalion, 20th Aerial Rocket Artillery during the Tet offensive and as acting commander of the 1st Cavalry Helicopter Battalion going in to Khe Sanh; and in Korea where he is remembered for the live fire demonstrations he orchestrated as the 2nd Infantry Division Aviation Battalion Commander. He received the Defense Superior Service Medal for his work at the Pentagon, Distinguished Flying Cross for rescuing a downed helicopter crew prior to capture, Bronze Star, Air Medal with V for Valor, and earned a Master Aviator Badge. In 1980, after retiring from the service, COL Newton moved with his wife, Linda, to a horse farm in Marshall, VA where he collected tractors, trucks and horses. COL Newton built and managed his own mobile home community in Stafford, VA. Despite the availability of today's technology, his insisted that his paper and pencil ledger system remained the most efficient bookkeeping system for all his ventures. An active sportsman, he played football and wrestled in his school days; he learned to ski at Camp Hale, CO and taught his family to love the sport. An enthusiastic golfer, he parked his clubs in 1992 to pursue his love of horseback riding, joining the Orange County Hunt of The Plains, VA, in which he served as Steward and Treasurer. COL Newton rarely missed a hunt and loved the all-out charge across the fields and over the coups on his Belgian Hunter. The many hunt breakfasts, point-to-points, and steeplechase races, were exceeded in enjoyment only by his tales of the foxes outwitting the hounds. Health issues and falls required him to hang up his skis, helmets and boots. Undaunted, he continued walking a mile every day and doing his morning calisthenics. He joined his wife in cheering on thoroughbred racehorses, which she began to breed in 1999, and winning the Maryland Million in 2008. Dedicated to his alma mater, he attended innumerable Army-Navy games, Class of '55 reunions, trips and gatherings. An avid preservationist and land conservationist, COL Newton worked with his wife to acquire an historic property, The Rector House at Atoka Road and Route 50, and to oversee its restoration and the formation with his neighbors of the Atoka Preservation Society. He was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church of Upperville, VA and managed Trinity's popular Annual Stable tour in 1994 and 1995. He is predeceased by his parents and brother, Kenneth H. Newton. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Linda Woodruff Draper; his children, Robert W. Jr., Tracey L., David D. and Maryanne W.; and six grandchildren, Robert W. III (Trey), Rebecca and Zachary Brak, Draper and Avery Newton and Nell Nicastro. Services, followed by interment, will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church, 9108 John Mosby Highway, Upperville, VA, on Saturday, September 29 at 11 a.m. Memorial contributions may be made to the West Point Fund, in memory of Robert W. Newton, Class of 1955, West Point Association of Graduates, 698 Mills Road, West Point, NY 10996 or to The Atoka Preservation Society, PO Box 90, Middleburg, VA 20118.Memorial contributions may be made to the West Point Fund, in memory of Robert W. Newton, Class of 1955, West Point Association of Graduates, 698 Mills Road, West Point, NY 10996 or to The Atoka Preservation Society, PO Box 90, Middleburg, VA 20118.