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Born in Lynn, Massachusetts to parents from Galway and named <em>Thomas Patrick Furey</em> on 12 October 1917, he was another American who could be counted on to live up to the traditions of the “Old Sod.” When Tom’s father died, Tom was still a child. His mother, with all the children helping, brought up the family in the old tradition. Tom had joined the family wage earners long before he entered St. Mary’s High School. By graduation, the academic bug had bitten him. When he learned, by chance, that a young fellow interested in college could attend the Army Prep school and compete for an appointment to West Point, he signed up before his mother could change his mind. Even though away from home, he did not shirk his family responsibilities. Tom’s scholarship and determination saw him through the Army Prep School with great success, and he won an Army appointment within a year.</p>
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As a cadet, he showed great interest in English and writing and enjoyed cross-country running. His Irish nature showed in his religious devotion and practice and as well as his gregarious nature.</p>
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Graduating in 1942, he entered a rapidly expanding wartime Army. He chose Infantry as his branch and went to the company officer’s course at Fort Benning. There, some friends from earlier classes, also of Irish heritage, whetted his enthusiasm for the airborne Army. From then on there was no question but that he would fight the war with them. First, however, he had to serve with one of the many infantry divisions being formed, the 104th at Camp Adair, Oregon. Again, his determination got him into an airborne assignment in the shortest possible time. When the 82nd Airborne Division jumped into Normandy on D-Day, 1st Lieutenant Furey, Commander, Company C, 505th Infantry Battalion, proudly led his command into battle.</p>
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By VE Day, Tom , although once wounded, had led his company in every battle, including the major airborne thrust of the war at Nijmegen and the Battle of the Bulge. He felt great satisfaction in their overall effort when his unit met the Russian Army at the Elbe River.</p>
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Tom’s war effort brought him many decorations, including the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Ribbon with oak leaf cluster, a Purple Heart Medal and unit decorations—from the United States, a Presidential Unit Citation; from France, a fourragere; from Belgium, a fourragere and from Holland, the Order of the Orange, a lanyard.</p>
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Following his war service, he reported to West Point as an instructor in the English Department. While there, in addition to teaching, he completed 30 hours at Columbia University in pursuit of a master’s degree.</p>
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Subsequently he attended the Infantry Advanced Course and then spent several years with the U.S. Army Advisory Group, Turkey.</p>
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Having satisfied earlier his two principal goals, wartime airborne duty and a firmer grasp on the English language, Tom found that these helped to get him a choice assignment to the Office, Army Chief of Staff, writing speeches and correspondence for General Maxwell Taylor.</p>
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The Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth next commanded his attention, and from it he went to G-l, Seventh Army in Germany. Stateside again, Tom became the Deputy Chief of Staff at Fort Ord.</p>
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During his early service with the 104th Infantry Division in Oregon, Tom met and married a local girl, Jane Sterrett of Portland. His family began to grow, even during his wartime duties, with the birth of Michael; then during West Point years with Patricia, John, Tom Jr., and later Katherine. Although, he and his wife separated, Tom kept in touch with the children. One of them tells the story of how his sons considered him an absolute expert in all his hobbies because he instructed with great eloquence and authority. As they grew and became more proficient in these hobbies, they began to realize that his eloquence and authority hid some shortcomings in expertise. Rather than lowering him in their estimation, the revelation made him more human and endearing to them.</p>
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In 1959, while on duty at Fort Ord, Tom married Virginia Chamberlain and started a new family with daughters Joan and Mary.</p>
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Following duty at the Presidio of San Francisco, with G-l, Sixth Army, reserve duty in Washington state and service at Army Headquarters in Okinawa, Tom retired in 1969.</p>
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Because he and Virginia had great affection for the Monterey area, they chose to live there. Ever the scholar, Tom continued school at the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies and then taught several programs sponsored by the Monterey School District.</p>
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The last bugle call for him came on 24 August 1991. An impressive military service was held in Monterey, at the former “Royal Chapel of the Presidio,” with later burial in the West Point Cemetery. At the memorial service in Monterey, Tom’s sons spoke movingly of their father’s deep pride in his family, his contribution in World War II, his deep Catholic faith and his Irish heritage. They recalled fondly his love of books and language and his constant interest in chess, bridge, and golf. Son Tom, Jr. felt that his Dad, with his keen sense of history, would have appreciated the irony of his having had both a birth and death coincident in time with those of the Soviet Union.</p>
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Thomas Patrick Furey respected his life-long family responsibilities, which began with his mother’s family. He also honed his various abilities so well that, whatever the duty, he performed in a manner that enhanced his reputation and that of the organization as well. Moreover, his wartime and other assignments merited honor both for himself and his country. In many ways, he proved himself true not merely to the “Old Sod”, but even more so to the “New Sod” of the U.S.A.</p>