I have to tell the World of my Respect for my Little Brother. He is a true Giant among men, with respect for his fellow man, as well as his God,and Savior Jesus Christ. Garth is a Sargent in the Army, He has Six boys under the age of 16, served 2 tours in Iraq, and has a wonderful wife.
I want to share an excerpt from the Fort Lewis Newspaper article about Armed Forces Night at Safeco Field for the Seattle Mariners game on April 17th 2010.
[ Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine and Coast Guard members took their turns with ceremonial first pitches. Sergeant 1st Class Garth Newell of 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade threw a fast ball to Mariner relief pitcher Sean White, an experience neither will likely forget.
Newell, a linguist who speaks Dutch, Spanish, French and Mandarin Chinese, will soon take the first sergeant job in a consolidated rear-detachment company until the brigade returns from Iraq in the fall.
White’s eyes widened when the ball loudly smacked his glove, and the crowd roared in reaction to Newell’s throwing heat instead of what is normally a polite toss.
“I guess I threw it harder than I intended to, because I heard everybody cheer,” Newell said.
Born and raised in McCleary, west of Olympia, Newell is widely known among his fellow 201st BfSB Soldiers as a diehard Mariners fan. He didn’t hesitate when his command sergeant major offered him the opportunity to throw a pitch at Safeco.
Muscle memory took over for the 1989 Elma High School graduate — the year Griffey Jr. broke into the league with the Mariners, he pointed out. Newell predominately played catcher in school, but pitched a little, also. Performing on a Major League field so close to home, he brought a large cheering section from home: His mother, Annette Curran, his wife Julie and their six boys, Kesley, 15, Dallin, 14, Josiah, 11, Elijah, 10, Ammon, 7, and Nathaniel, 5, all applauded from Section 116, Row 20 along the first-base line.
Josiah shows the most interest in baseball, his father said.
“He’s a pitcher, and a good one, on an Elma Little League team,” Newell said.
The only mild disappointment was that Newell didn’t meet his heroes, Griffey or retired catcher, Dan Wilson. He brought a ball signed by the entire Newell family to the game just in case, but gave it to White, instead.
Otherwise, the combat veteran couldn’t stop grinning Saturday evening.
“I expected to be more nervous, but once I got out there, I wasn’t,” Newell said. “I was like ‘Wow, this is pretty cool.’”]
Very Cool indeed. Garth has the envy of all 8 of his Brothers, as well as a number of his nephews.
I Salute you Garth, I could only hope to be Half the man You have become. Few men can come out of combat with their wits intact. I believe You has conquered that feat.
Garth as well as all 8 of my Brothers and my 3 Sisters mean the world to me. I wish they were closer than 800 miles away so I could have them all in my everyday life. Family is Everything. Cherish it while you have it! Don't let little things get in the way! and LIVE! LAUGH! LOVE!
