Front of the Naval Reserve Base in New Orleans, where Newton Blount enlisted.
Not long after graduating from business school, Newton Blount enlisted himself into the military at the New Orleans Naval Reserve Aviation Base on June 26, 1941. Not long in New Orleans, Blount was briefly sent to the Naval Reserve Base in Miami before being forwarded to the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida on August 4, 1941. Jacksonville was where Newton would receive his pilot's training. By mid-1942, Blount had received his wings and graduated as a pilot. After his graduation as pilot, he was transferred from the Navy to the Marine Corps. At this same time is also likely when Blount earned his rank as Captain, as all of the Marine units associated with him in his two years of service refer to him as a Captain.
For a time, Captain Blount was deployed outside of combat zones. After being transferred to the Marines, he was briefly moved to the Marine base in Quantico, Virginia. From Quantico, Captain Blount was given an eleven month deployment to the Virgin Islands. During his tenure in the Virgin Islands, Blount would be a member of the aerial scouting unit VMS-3. Though he was not in a combat area, Blount was not free of dangers. On October 7, 1942, while Blount was taking off for a routine flight around his area of St. Thomas, his plane "groundlooped" on the runway and had a crash. Blount and his passenger were unharmed, but the plane required repairs. In August of 1943, Captain Blount was able to return home to Hattiesburg on temporary leave. Sometime in the fall of 1943, he was transferred out of VMS-3, re-assigned to the fighter unit VMF-321 before being shipped to the Pacific front.
For a time, Captain Blount was deployed outside of combat zones. After being transferred to the Marines, he was briefly moved to the Marine base in Quantico, Virginia. From Quantico, Captain Blount was given an eleven month deployment to the Virgin Islands. During his tenure in the Virgin Islands, Blount would be a member of the aerial scouting unit VMS-3. Though he was not in a combat area, Blount was not free of dangers. On October 7, 1942, while Blount was taking off for a routine flight around his area of St. Thomas, his plane "groundlooped" on the runway and had a crash. Blount and his passenger were unharmed, but the plane required repairs. In August of 1943, Captain Blount was able to return home to Hattiesburg on temporary leave. Sometime in the fall of 1943, he was transferred out of VMS-3, re-assigned to the fighter unit VMF-321 before being shipped to the Pacific front.
An A-24 Banshee, a divebomber/scouting plane flown by Blount while deployed in the Virgin Islands.
