Christopher W. Newman, heroic Tuskegee Airman, passes at 100

Christopher W. Newman, a pilot graduate of the Tuskegee Flight School who survived two crashes and flew 84 missions as a fighter pilot in World War II with the Tuskegee Airmen, passed away at the age of 100 on Oct. 21, 2022.

Newman was born on April 18, 1922 to Frank and Marye in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. He was raised and educated in the Mill Creek area of St. Louis and graduated from Vashon High School. He told the Post-Dispatch in 2012 “a big parade” for aviator Charles Lindbergh began his interest in flying planes.

“When he flew across the ocean, he was the first man to fly solo. I was impressed by the way that airplane flew. That is when I got impressed about airplanes.”

He joined the U.S. Army Air Corp and was sent to Tuskegee Army Air Field, Ala., for flight training. He graduated on Oct. 1, 1943, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. He rose to the rank of Captain while completing 66 long-range missions.

 “That was the first thing in my life that I really, really wanted to do,” Newman said in a 2006 documentary.

“I almost washed out in the beginning, and it scared me to death, but I made it. But my determination to make it … I put everything I had into it because, golly, our class started with 72 in it, and we graduated 23.”

He deployed to Italy with the 100th Fighter Squadron, part of the 332nd Fighter Group. The 100th Fighter Squadron flew its first combat mission on Feb. 4, 1944, flying P-39 Airacobras.

On his 24th mission, Lt. Newman was forced to crash-land his plane in Italy. The P-39 caught on fire, trapping Newman inside.

“I thought I was dead until I heard a guy say, ‘Spray it here,’” Newman said in the documentary. “The firefighters would come up and put foam on it. I rolled the window down and said, ‘Get me out of here!’

He was hospitalized for two months with his injuries, but he clamored to return to battle in the sky.

He returned to the 100th Fighter Squadron, and in April, and his 332nd Fighter Group had upgraded to new P-47 Thunderbolts. The group later received new P-51 Mustangs. 

His fighter group escorted B-17 bombers to Munich, Germany on Sept. 22, 1944, and Newman was forced to bail from his plane after it was hit by anti-aircraft fire.

“Everything was going through my mind,” Newman said in a 2002 interview.

“It was a life-threatening emergency. When I was coming down in the chute, I was bleeding. I had a one-man rubber dinghy. It was just a matter of waiting. I could see airplanes flying over. I was out there for six hours.”

After two weeks’ rest, Newman was flying again.

After WWII ended, he was recalled for action in the Korean War in 1950. He completed another 97 combat missions over the course of two years before being honorably discharged from the U.S. Air Force in 1952.

“I learned a lot and I got a few scars, but I was glad that I did it,” Newman said in the documentary. “I didn’t regret it at all.”

After returning to St. Louis, Newman became known as a reliable, hard-working and supportive father. He worked as a U.S. postal clerk, then at the Defense Mapping Agency.

In 2007, St. Louis Lambert International Airport re-dedicated a mural “Black Americans in Flight,” honoring African American pilots who broke color barriers. Newman attended the ceremony, and his portrait is on the fourth panel.

Christopher Newman married Ernestine Perry in 1948, and they raised four children in St. Louis to adulthood. He would have six grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife, parents, sisters, one daughter and many cousins. His surviving family, three children, nieces, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will always cherish his memory.

“Chris will always be remembered as a Tuskegee Airman; but to those of us who knew him best he was the steady, loyal and resourceful man who touched so many lives,” his family said in a statement.

“I guess I’m sentimental,” Newman said in the documentary.

“I’m glad the [Tuskegee Airmen] turned out. I’m glad we are known as good, patriotic Americans.”