Captain Roy James Newkirk

Captain Roy James Newkirk (19 August 1914 – 24 April 1992)
Born in St. Augustine, Florida
Died in Vancover, Washington
Buried in Wilamette National Cemetery, Portland, OR
[https://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3919123]

Mr. Newkirk joined the American Merchant Marine in 1935, retiring with the rank of captain in 1980. He also served with the Navy during the Korean War with the rank of LCDR.

During WW2, he was a crew member on two different Merchant Marine ships that were sunk by Nazi military forces. The first ship was the SS Lehigh, it was sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of Sierre Leone on October 19, 1941.

The second ship was bombed by the Luftwaffe off the coast of Bari, Italy on 2 December 1943. In the Media section, there is a Life Magazine article and an eye witness account by Roy himself of the sinking of the SS Lehigh..

Additionally, there are other accounts of the sinking of the SS Lehigh in the Media.

- Sinking of the SS Lehigh, October 19, 1941 -by Sam Hakam, Radio Operator
- Ships hit by U-boats - SS Lehigh - American Steam merchant

He was a member of the Master, Mates & Pilots Union and the Merchant Marine Veterans Association. After retirement, Mr. Newkirk was an adviser to Clark County Sea Scouts. He had lived in Vancouver, Washington since 1972 till his death in 1992.

At the time of his death, he was survived by his wife, Phyllis, at home, four daughters, Janie Newkirk, Stephanie Montgomery, and Risa Newkirk, all of Portland, and Melissa Sellers of Vancouver; two sons Roy Jr. of Rincon, Ga., and Phillip of Portland; a sister Esther DeVaux of Hartford, Conn.; a brother, John of Jacksonville, Fla.; and six grandchildren.

Photos and documents can be found in the Media: