Photo By Alexandra Shea | Retired Maj. Gen. Thomas Rew, left center, is given a racquetball racquet as a 100th...... read more read more
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For many Perez Fitness Center patrons, Thomas Rew looks like just another retirees who like to play racquetball. Most don’t know he just celebrated his 100th birthday or his elaborate military history that took flight with a white lie.
“I was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1922. We lived in a popular area in an apartment over a candy store,” Rew said. “Every day we would be out there playing punch ball or stoop ball. We had a lot of fun growing up.”
“We spent all of our days out playing,” Rew said. He and his friends would play some sort of ball game daily. Spending his free time outdoors with friends would also be how he met his first wife.
“Two girls were walking and I would say, ‘Hey Marie, wait up.’ She was riding a bicycle and she stopped,” Rew said. “This other kid was with me and I said, ‘Marie, this is Harry. Harry, this is Marie.’ And that’s how I met my wife.”
Though he initially introduced Harry to Marie, she would become his future wife.
As Rew continued to live his life, it would soon change.
“I never finished high school because I was going to a prestigious technical school in New York City. I didn’t finish. Then World War II came and I had to enlist because of the draft. All of us young boys had to go into service. I didn’t want to be known as a ‘slacker’ either. Slackers were draft dodgers,” Rew said. “I was not going to be drafted. My father was in World War I. I thought it was my duty to do it.”
“I had never finished high school but I told them a lie when I filled out my report. I had 12 years of education, that’s true, I went 12 years but I never graduated.”
Doing what he thought was his duty to his country, Rew enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942 as an aircraft mechanic. The lie, a technicality of wording, would truly make his career take flight. In 1943 he completed aviation cadet training and commission as a second lieutenant as a B-26 pilot.
“So with that lie, they sent me to pilot training,” Rew said. “Just like handball, it was a wild time.”
Rew would take part in World War II but not on the European front like most pilots at the time. He would participate in the final days of the war on the Pacific front.
“I was in-route to Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, during World War II to take a B-29 combat crew into combat when the war ended,” Rew said. “So, I put in to get out of the service.”
Rew would leave service to attend college. After earning a bachelor’s of science degree he would be recalled to service due to the Korean War. He served as a B-29 aircraft commander with the 375th Bombardment Squadron, 308th Bombardment Wing.
He would continue service into the Vietnam War where he took part in Operation Linebacker II, an 11 day bombing campaign against North Vietnamese enemy forces supplied with anti-aircraft firepower. Rew commanded sorties that flew over Hanoi and Hai Phong.
After the end of the Vietnam War, Rew would go on to command various Air Force wings and divisions before he retired at the rank of major general. He earned many awards and decorations to include the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with palm device.
Rew and his wife would grow their Family to include three sons and make Columbia, South Carolina, their forever home. His second son would carry on the tradition of military service and become a fighter pilot himself.
“He had a huge influence on me,” said William “Bill” Rew. “I became an F-16 pilot.”
The junior Rew would honorably serve more than 30 years in the Air Force through several operational airspace to include Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He would retire at the rank of lieutenant general and make Columbia his home as well.
Being closer to his son means the senior Rew can frequently play racquetball with him. Both can be found on the courts at Fort Jackson’s Perez Fitness Center almost daily. They have even made friends with fellow lovers of racquetball and have formed a group that plays throughout the week. The senior Rew continues to play despite his age.
“I don’t plan on stopping. Bill comes here to play with me when he is home,” Rew said. “All three of my sons were athletic. Were they better than I was? I don’t think so. They may have thought they were.”
On March 18, Thomas Rew celebrated his 100th birthday with his Family and racquetball friends at the gym. Thirteen filled one of the gym’s courts to sing him a round of Happy Birthday as well as He’s a Jolly Good Fellow before presenting him with a new racquet, sleeve of balls, balloons, candy, and cards.
“I thank you all every single day for these blessings and I thank you all for being a part of my life,” he said. “I just don’t know what else to say.”
| Date Taken: | 03.18.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.24.2022 08:21 |
| Story ID: | 417058 |
| Location: | FORT JACKSON, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 76 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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