As many have heard, last month Pekin lost one of its hometown heroes, U.S. Army Lieut. Col. (ret.) Stanley A. Newell, 76, a Vietnam War veteran who survived almost six years as a Prisoner of War. Newell, a career serviceman (who retired in 1992) and life member of North Pekin AMVETS Post 169, succumbed to cancer on Thursday, 11 Jan. 2024, in Alabama. I was informed of his passing by his sister Amy Werner last week.
Of Pekin’s many Vietnam War veterans, Newell was the only POW. For his service in Vietnam, Newell was awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars, and a Purple Heart. Like many young men of his generation, Newell was drafted during America’s war on behalf of South Vietnam against the Communist forces of North Vietnam, which raged from the summer of 1964 through early 1973. About 2.6 million U.S. soldiers served within the borders of South Vietnam, with about half of them seeing combat or being exposed to enemy attack. About 282,000 American and allied soldiers aiding South Vietnam were killed during the war.
Drafted in 1966, Newell left Pekin on Sept. 14 of that year. As an Army private first class sent to fight in Vietnam in Jan. 1967, Newell was captured by the Vietcong on 12 July 1967 while on a search and destroy patrol in the Ia Drang Valley in South Vietnam’s Pleiku Province along the Cambodian border. On that date, the Army classified him as missing in action (MIA). He was held as a POW until the war’s end, suffering indignities at the hands of his captors, and making a failed escape attempt on Nov. 6, 1967, along with four other POWs. Following the withdrawal of American forces (which would lead to North Vietnam’s conquest of South Vietnam in 1975), the Paris Peace Accords in 1973 provided for the return of American POWs held in Vietnam. Newell was among those POWs who were released in March 1973, and the Army promoted him to the rank of Staff Sgt.
Newell was one of four Peoria-area POWs released at that time. The others were Air Force Capt. Gary Sigler of Table Grove, Air Force Lt. Col. Bruce G. Seeber, formerly of Metamora, and Navy Capt. James B. Stockdale, formerly of Abingdon (who had been the highest ranking Navy man held by the Vietcong).
Unlike the families of Sigler, Seeber, and Stockdale, the Newell family of Pekin received almost no news of their son during his years of captivity. After his capture, the only evidence that he had not been killed in combat was a grainy Xerox copy of a photo from a Hanoi newspaper showing Newell and three other POWs being guarded by two North Vietnamese soldiers. That photo enabled the Army to change Newell’s status from MIA to POW on 17 May 1969.
But the Newells had no way of knowing whether he’d later succumbed during his imprisonment – their letters to him were never answered. During those years, Newell’s mother, Mrs. Muriel Newell, wrote letters to government officials and agencies, gave media interviews, and spoke publicly to keep her son’s plight fresh in people’s minds. Thousands of Pekinites wore Stan Newell POW metal wristbands as signs of their hope. (An extensive collection of articles, photos, cards, scrapbooks and other mementos of the Newell family’s experience during those years was donated to the Pekin Public Library by Newell’s sister Amy a few years ago.)
“We are happier than we can ever say,” Newell’s mother had said in joy and relief when she was informed that her son was coming home. “Now we know something. Now we don’t have to wait until the very end to find something out.”
After regaining his freedom on 5 March 1973, Newell was flown to the Philippines, then to Denver, where he was reunited with his parents and sisters after six years of separation. He returned to Pekin on 24 March 1973, landing that day at Pekin Airport, where he was given a hero’s welcome by a band and a large crowd that included Mayor William Waldmeier, then was given a parade down Court Street.
Upon his passing last month, a memorial gathering was held 16 Jan. 2024 at Gassett Funeral Home in Wetumpka, Alabama. His Peoria Journal Star obituary also says, “There will be a celebration held in Pekin at a later date, where Stan will be honored, remembered and ‘welcomed home.’” According to his sister Amy, his body has been donated to medical science.
Following is Stan’s obituary as published at the Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes & Crematory website:
PEKIN ~ Stanley Arthur Newell was born on August 8, 1947 in Pekin. He was the second child and only son of Arthur Bunn Newell and Muriel McGee Newell. He had one older sister, Brenda, and two younger sisters, Amy, and Marti. Stan’s entire childhood was in Pekin and was drafted into the United States Army after high school.
He was a POW in Vietnam from 1967 to 1973. His time in action would earn him the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars, and Purple Heart. He returned to Pekin in March 1973 and was lucky enough to reconnect and marry the love of his life, Shari Lynette Peplow, in October 1973. Stan stayed in the United States Army for his career and earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Austin Peay State University.
In 1976, Stanley proudly became a father to his pride and joy, Christopher Sean Newell. Stan and his family were stationed in Tennessee, Alabama, Hawaii, and Alabama again. In 1992, Lieutenant Colonel Newell retired from the Army at Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama.
Stan loved the warm weather of Alabama, so he and Shari stayed in Montgomery to enjoy retirement. Stan was always down for family card night or grilling out steaks for his family and friends. He enjoyed dove hunts, skeet shooting, and reading in his retirement years. His favorite years were his years as a grandfather to his two granddaughters, Annabelle Grace and Allianne Grace. These years found him swimming and playing pretend as a princess often.
Stan passed on January 11, 2024. He was surrounded by his beloved son, Chris, and daughter-in-law Autumn Marie Newell as he went peacefully. He is preceded by his wife, Shari Lynette Peplow Newell, and both parents.
He leaves behind his son Chris and his wife Autumn, his two granddaughters, Annabelle Grace Newell and Allianne Grace Newell. He also leaves behind his three sisters, and many beloved nieces and nephews, cousins, and in-laws.
