Newkirk, John

Person

Staff Only

Dates

Existence: 1913 - 1942

Biographical Note

John Van Kuren "Scarsdale Jack" Newkirk (15 October 1913 – 24 March 1942) was a United States naval aviator and squadron leader with the first American Volunteer Group (AVG), also known as the Flying Tigers, who may have led the first American offensive mission of World War II.

Most of his combat experience was during the defense of Rangoon, Burma, from Japanese air attacks. After the fall of Rangoon, his unit was operating from within China when he set off on his final mission, as part of an attack on Japanese airfields in Thailand. He was shot down and killed on March 24, 1942.

[Biography from Wikipedia]

Citation:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Newkirk

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Leroy F. Johnson Collection

Collection — Folder 1

Identifier: 2009-12-03

Contents of the Collection The Leroy F. Johnson Collection is a small collection comprised of materials relating to John "Scarsdale Jack" Newkirk and sixteen (16) black-and-white avation photographs that appear to be unrelated to Newkirk. The materials related to John Newkirk include two (2) digital reprints of 1940s-era portraits of Newkirk in uniform as well as an eight-page typed biography, "The Life of Jack Newkirk - Known as "Scarsdale Jack," by Janet Newkirk (his sister), copyright 1942. ...

Dates: 1918-1942

Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Archives at The Museum of Flight