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MAJOR GENERAL CLEMENTS MCMULLEN BIOGRAPHY
BIOGRAPHY
MAJOR ARTHUR DOW NEWMAN, USA
BIOLOGICAL FATHER OF FRANK MCMCOY MCMULLEN
Arthur Dow Newman was born
30 August 1889 in Fryeburg, Maine. He was the third child born to Mr. And Mrs.
B.T. Newman. He graduated with honors from Fryeburg Academy in 1906 and entered
Dartmouth College in 1908 while waiting for his appointment to West Point. He
received his appointment to West Point in 1910 and graduated in 1914 as a
cavalry officer. His West Point nickname was “HOOK.”
Figure 1: Major Arthur Dow Newman, USA in his West
Point cadet
uniform, as a lieutenant in his service dress
uniform and in his
dress blues.
After graduating from West
Point, his first appointed station was Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas.
While in Texas, he was ordered to join the Punitive Expedition into Mexico
within the period 15 March 1916 to 7 February 1917 with General John J.
(Blackjack) Pershing in search of Francisco (Pancho) Villa.
Figure 2: West Point diploma for Arthur
Dow Newman, class
of 1914.
Figure 3:
Commission certificate as a
Second Lieutenant
signed by
President Woodrow
Wilson
At the outbreak of World
War I, Arthur Dow Newman was recalled to Washington, D.C. and advanced rapidly
to the rank of major. For a short period of time he served in Headquarters, 3rd
Division, Camp Pike Arkansas. From 1919 to 1922 he served in the P.S.&T.
Division, General Staff, Washington, D.C. and in the Cavalry Office, Chief of
Cavalry, Washington, D.C.
In 1919, Major Newman was
asked to write a letter to the West Point alumnus newsletter specifically detailing
his career for the past five years. The letter is as follows:
ADear Fred: You know not what you ask for when you
demand my history
for the past five years. After sallying forth from the
Military Academy,
leaving behind me the many sad experiences of the >Milemo Squad,= long
tours on the >area,= the Navy game I did not see, etc. I spent practically the
whole summer with Duke Milliken, who took me up to
that part of the
woods where his famous bear story was developed.
AIn the course of events, September arrived and Duke
and I journeyed
westward together to New York City, where we were
joined by Pink
Bull. After our stay in New York, we jumped a train
for Chicago, where
Pink and Duke left me to depart for the wild and woolly
West. I forgot
to mention that the three of us went to a ball game in
Chicago, as you
know Duke could never miss watching Ty Cobb knock a
home run -
and we were not disappointed.
ASeptember 14th found me sweltering at Fort
Sam Houston, Texas, with
the 3rd Cavalry; and when I say >sweltering= I mean every drop of it. I believe
I shall write a book some time entitled >From Maine to Texas in the Month
of September,= or >Under the Sweltering Palms in Texas.= Anyway, as the
fall came on in 1914, I began to appreciate more and
more the delightful
temperature of Texas as compared with a Maine fall and
winter.
AAt the time I joined the 3rd Cavalry, Glass
and Butts passed through on
the way to join the same outfit, the only difference
being as one is to thirty,
or as Mission and Brownsville are to San Antonio.
However, the tables
were reversed in March of 1915, when my squadron hit
the dust for
Mission. We arrived at that lonely border station in
due time, and for
eight months thereafter I learned what it was to live
in a tin box in
an oven with full steam pressure gauge on. Amen for
that!
ADuring part of this period, since I was the only 2nd
Lieutenant present,
it was my duty to take the field every time a Mexican
hombre from Otro
Lado poked his nose up over the banks of the Rio
Grande; every full
moon had the effect of shunting over a batch of them,
at which time I
was routed out to take charge of the usual expedition,
at the usual hour,
with the usual rations.
AIn undue time my outfit was moved to Roma, Texas,
another delightful
watering place on the Rio Grande. (It didn’t rain for
eighteen months.)
Let me recommend, Fellow Classmates, if ever occasion
demands that
your exiling yourself from civilization, that you pick
Roma. Watch for
advertisements! The only excitement that took place at
Roma was when
a member of the class of 15' or 16' shot a cow by
mistake, mistaking
it for a dear. It cost him only $30, but he sold the
meat to the troop
and recovered some of his money.
AMy next hop was to Fort Ringgold in January, >16. Doubtless all
know the famous joke about this station; but it is
hotter than that tale
represents it to be. Still we found the hunting good,
and had lots of it.
The only time we saw any of the so-called civilization
of the world was
once a month when one of the lieutenants had to go to
Sam Fordyce
to get the squadron=s pay, at which time he would drift down to the rail-
road station, get a whiff of salt air, and watch the
choo-choo cars.
Believe me, it was most exciting. However, the
enjoyment created by
this diversion was somewhat tempered by the 24 mile
ride through the
dust between Fort Ringgold and Sam Fordyce that
preceded and
followed the expedition.
AIn March of >16, I bade good-bye to the salubrious climate of
Ringgold and moved on to Fort Brown, Brownsville,
Texas.
Despite all that has been said about this station, I
hardly think that a
better border station can be found. All the time we
were there we played
polo three times a week, and almost as frequently,
during the fall, went
hunting down at Point Isabelle. Squadron >A= polo team came down
a couple of times to Brownsville from Pharr, Texas,
and were beaten by
the Fort Brown team both times. Monte Glass used to
show up occa-
sionally at Brownsville, coming down from Mercedes,
Texas, in his
automobile. Outside of the one or two flurries with
Mexican bandits,
life at Fort Brown was one thing after another, where
each thing was
the same thing. Ask any engineer what that means.
AHowever, there was one thing that took place that may
be interesting to
hear. It seems that the 1st Squadron of the
3rd Cavalry had been piping
for about two years to return to Fort Sam Houston.
About six times
they almost started for the haven of their desires,
but each time something
or other turned up, and they continued their work on
the border. Monte
Glass and Van Horn, 1911, were both members of this
outfit. I can re-
member when they finally got their orders and were to
leave the next day.
That night there was a wild celebration in
Brownsville. Monte Glass and
Van Horn started with Main Street, which by the way,
is the only street in
Brownsville boasting macadam, and called on all the
people in town they
knew, to bid a fond farewell, etc., to all of them. At
about twelve o=clock
midnight a report came through Regimental Headquarters
that the regi-
ment had been erroneously ordered to Fort Sam Houston,
and that they
would proceed the next day to Mercedes, Texas, and
there take station.
Spirits that had previously registered 250 degrees
centigrade promptly
dropped to absolute zero. If you don=t believe me asked Monte Glass.
AIn February of >17, the 3rd Cavalry finally was ordered
back to Fort Sam
Houston, and after the usual delightful (?) March, we
pulled into San
Antonio with flying colors. Monte Glass and I got a
captains set of quarters
and lived bachelor life together. In April of that
year I was ordered on
detached service to instruct N.C.O. candidates for
commissioned officers
at a school course which lasted a little over two
months.
AAt this time I was asked if the Roosevelt Division
were authorized and
organized, would I accept a commission. You can
imagine my answer and
you can imagine the rest - (it was never organized).
AOn the 15th of August, I passed from the
bachelor status to duty as a
married man. Monk Lewis= sister was the unfortunate bride. I managed
to shake through with a fifteen-day leave. When I
returned from a trip
around the world, which began in Springfield, Ill.,
and ended in San
Antonio, I was offered the opportunity of becoming an
A.D.C., and at
the same time was ordered as Adjutant to Leon Springs
Training Camp.
At the same time my regiment was ordered overseas. Now
begins the
sad part. I had no choice but to be left behind, and,
therefore, of the
two jobs chose that of A.D.C.
AIn September, 1917, I joined the 32nd
Division at Waco, Texas. While
there as Division Athletic Officer I had the great
pleasure of taking the
32nd Division football team through
Michigan and Wisconsin and return
to Waco. The team made an excellent record.
AIn December of the same year, I was ordered to the 85th
Division,
Camp Custer, Michigan; the 32nd Division in
the meantime being order-
ed overseas. I remained with the 85th
Division until February 1918,
when the General Officer for whom I was an aide was
retired, and I
was ordered to join the 15th Machine Gun
Battalion at Chickamauga
Park, Georgia.
AAbout a week before this outfit was ordered to the
port of embarka-
tion, I received am order transferring me to the 18th
Machine Gun
Battalion. It looks as if the >higher-ups= had it in for me, and I=ll say they
did, too. Anyway, the 15th went overseas, and
I joined the 18th, same
station. For the next two months the whole outfit of
us worked eigh-
teen to twenty hours a day preparing for the trip
overseas. In May, we
were ordered to Camp Wadsworth, S.C., and from there
went to
Landrum, North Carolina, on the target range.
AIn June, I received the joyful news that I had been
designated as Billeting
Officer representing my Machine Gun Battalion, and
would be sent
overseas shortly. I took in a trip over Sunday to
Grove Park Inn at
Asheville, N.C. About 12:30 midnight, that night a
Western Union
messenger boy aroused me and handed me a telegram. The
message
simply stated: >You will proceed to Waco, Texas. McCain.= I did! Had
I remained one more day with my outfit, I would have
been on the road
to the Port of Embarkation, bound overseas. However,
it is all in a life-
time.
AAt Waco, I was assigned to Replacements, and for the
next four months
we sent overseas each month our quota of Infantry
troops. At Waco, with
us, there were eight men in the Class of >14, Byron, Byron, Ducky, Jones,
Parkinson, Tim Rees, Chauncey Benson, and Monte Glass.
We had some
great reunions, believe me. However, one by one all
were ordered away -
Chauncey and Joe Byron overseas, and the others to
stations I do not
remember at this time; while your humble servant was
routed in January,
>19, to Washington, D.C. Here, I am a true desk
soldier. Since January,
>19, I have been on duty with the Standardization
Branch, P,S.&T.
Division, General Staff.
AI forgot to mention that an eight-pound three ounce
hunk of humanity
arrived in my family in the shape of one baby boy,
dated April 19,
1919. Take it from me he has more lung capacity per
square inch than any
piece of mechanism I have ever seen. I have evolved a
scheme. In the
event of future war, the enemy can be easily licked by
assigning to them
one thousand of the same age and same variety to
disrupt their night=s
rest; thereby we will cause the necessary diversion
and fatigue to enable
us to mop up.
AI was told to write a long letter and give a complete
history. I think I
have dome it. Hope you are tired from having read it.
Sincerely, Newman.@
Class of 1914, United States Military Academy. The
1914 Five-Year Book.
Published by the Class of 1914, October 12, 1919. Pp
10.
On 15 August 1917, Major
Newman married Miss Adelaide Palmer Lewis, daughter of Brigadier General and
Mrs. Edward M. Lewis in Springfield, Illinois. By 1922, he has two children
Edward Lewis Newman born April 19, 1919 and Frank McCoy Newman born September
12, 1920.
On 1 July 1922, Major
Newman sustained a terminal spinal injury while in a government polo
tournament. In a collision with another polo rider his spine was broken and the
major died at 10 o=clock PM the same evening. He is buried in Arlington
Cemetery.
Adelaide, the wife of
Major Newman, came from a military family that had historical roots with West
Point. Her father, Brigadier General Edward M. Lewis graduated from West Point
class of 1886. His West Point number is 3166. Her brother (born 8 May 1889),
Henry Balding Lewis graduated from West Point class of 1913. His West Point
number is 5178 and his service number is 03583.
Arthur Dow Newman=s grandfather, A.A. Gibson graduated from West Point
class of 1839.
In 1924 Adelaide with her
two children Edward and Frank were living with her father, Brigadier General
Lewis, at Camp Travis, Texas. In 1926, Adelaide marries Major General Clements
McMullen, Army Air Corps. The two children Edward and Frank are adopted by
General McMullen and bear his name; Edward Lewis McMullen and Frank McCoy
McMullen.
Figure 4: The home of Brigadier General
Edward M. Lewis,
USA at Camp
Travis, Texas.
Edward Lewis McMullen graduated
from Texas A&I in 1949 after serving in WWII. Edward joined the military
prior to WWII and received a commission through OCS at Fort Sill. Edward served
the entire war as a forward observer in the 113th Field Artillery
Battalion, 30th Division. During the war he earned the Silver Star,
Bronze Star with palm, and the Purple Heart with palm. In May of 1949 he earned
his degree in the Gas Section of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&I.
Frank McCoy McMullen graduated
from West Point class of 1943 in the Army Air Corps. He and continued his
career with the USAF following the war. He flew missions out of England as
first pilot, in a B-24, later B-17. He was assigned to the 490th
Bomb Group, 8th Air Force. During the war he won the Air Medal.
Following the war, he was with the 393 Bomb Squadron, Roswell, New Mexico and
continued flying B-29's.