An ardent believer in the Infantry as the backbone of the Army, he joined the
21st Infantry Regiment at Vancouver Barracks in 1913, and was also assigned to several training camps on the west coast as an instructor just prior to World War I. In 1919 he was National Junior Saber Champion. Next he was assigned as a tactical officer at West Point, which prevented him from going overseas in World War I. He saw those battlefields when after the war he accompanied a group of early graduates on a trip through France, Germany and Italy. While at the Infantry School in 1921-1922 he continued his interest and training in marksmanship. He served in 1924 with the
27th Infantry Regiment in Hawaii as a Major, and completed his tour in the Islands with a year as Inspector of the Hawaiian Division. Upon his return to the United States he completed The Command and General Staff School, and was then assigned to command the Infantry Demonstration Battalion at The Field Artillery School,
Fort Sill, Oklahoma, from 1927 to 1931. His experience in tactics was rapidly broadening, and his interest in sports continued. He took part in polo, tennis, swimming, and hunting, and also taught tennis at Fort Sill, as he had done in Hawaii. While at Fort Sill he met and married Priscilla Quinby of Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts, in December 1927. Following courses at the
Army War College in 1931–1932, he had duty in the Training Section, Office of the Chief of Infantry. By now his ability for higher echelon jobs was well established and he became G-l of the First Army in its initial organization from 1934 to 1936, and later G-3 of the Sixth Corps Area in Chicago. However, his main love was straight duty with troops. In 1940 he organized and trained the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment, the infantry regiment of the Second Armored Division. During this period General
George S. Patton said of him on his efficiency report: "Colonel Newgarden is the best regimental commander I know. He is a natural leader. He will go far". His rise in command was fast. On January 15, 1942, he was promoted to Brigadier General and commanded Combat Command A of the
2nd Armored Division. [Combat Command A became the 1st TIGER Brigade, 2nd Armored Division in the 1950s.] Shortly thereafter, on June 22, 1942, he was promoted to temporary Major General, and assigned to organize and train the 10th Armored Division at
Fort Benning. Said Newgarden, Official visitors were impressed with the superior results he obtained. Among those visitors were the President, the Army Chief of Staff, and various general officers high in the training organization of the Army as well as distinguished British leaders, including
Anthony Eden. While Major General
William H. H. Morris took the "Tigers" into battle, Newgarden was the first to command and train them, and the 10th Armored Division played key roles in several
engagements during World War II. ==Death==