For years, Thomas W. Newton lived his life with a quiet humbleness that kept many — even those closest to him — in the dark to his heroic deeds.
He was a veteran. A proud member of the Air Force. But that’s where they thought his story ended. One day his son, Plant City Police Corporal Steven Carmack, was pushing him for more information on his service and he delved upon a treasure he was in no way prepared for: his father served as part of the 99th Fighter Squadron, the first black flying squadron.
Carmack’s father was a Tuskegee Airman.
“One day I was asking my dad about his history, his service history in the Air Force, and he pulled out a picture,” Carmack said. “When I looked at the picture, I had studied the Tuskegee Airmen, and I saw it said the 99th Fighter Squadron and I knew right away what it meant. It meant that he was a Tuskegee Airman. It meant that he was a part of history.”
Carmack sent his father’s service records to the Tuskegee Institute and they officially documented Newton as a Tuskegee Airman on Nov. 13, 2019.
“I never sought any recognition for it,” Newton said. “I was in the Air Force. That’s just what I said when everybody would ask me if I served. My neighbor used to ask me if I was in the military and I would just say, ‘Yes, I was in the Air Force.’ I served just like everybody else. Thanks to my son I’m getting the recognition now.”
In fact, his neighbor has known Newton for 29 years and had no idea he was living next door to a man who helped carve out a monumental piece of history.
Newton joined the Air Force on Jan. 31, 1946 as an administrative supply clerk and was assigned to the 99th Fighter Squadron, 332 Fighter Group stationed at Lockbourne Army Air Base in Columbus, Ohio. He rose to the rank of Sergeant before receiving an honorable discharge on Jan. 31, 1949. He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.
“My family was in the military, by brother was in the Air Force and Army and I just thought, ‘Now it’s my turn,” Newton said. “It was one of the best experiences of my life. I went into the Air Force as an 18-year-old and really grew over the next few years.”
He taught his family the importance of serving others and soon Carmack followed in his footsteps, giving 20 years to the Air Force before ending up at PCPD. The lessons he taught about life and the character of a man have stayed with his entire family and they said they can’t think of someone more worthy of the honor.
Since his official acknowledgement by the Tuskegee Institute, Newton has been asked numerous times to speak to others, including many youth, about his past experiences. When Carmack told his father he was chosen to ride in a place of honor in the Grand Parade in Plant City, he said he thought it was “a wonderful thing” and was very happy to come.
He and his wife Mary Birth Newton practiced their parade waves and were humbled and honored by the warm welcome Plant City gave them.
“This truly has been an honor,” Mary Birth Newton said. “We are very excited and think it’s just a wonderful experience. We are so happy for him and this really means so much to us. We have a lot of hidden heroes that we don’t know about. It’s good to let those stories be told. The more of your history you know, the better your future can be.”