Rock County, WisconsinBiographies"Earnest William Tews" |
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EARNEST WILLIAM TEWS Earnest (Ernie) Tews, son of Paul and Helen Tews, was raised on a farm near Beloit. He attended Orfordville High School, and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1968. After going through Basic and Advanced Infantry Training, Ernie was sent to Vietnam and arrived there on Sept 30, 1968. He had achieved the rank of Lance Corporal, and was assigned to the 3rd Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, of the 5th Marine Division. The Unit's location was in the northernmost part of South Vietnam to counteract the infiltration of the enemy and conduct daily search and destroy missions. Marines, unlike any other Service, were required to pull a 13 month tour of duty rather than 12 months. In Feb through April of 1969, Charlie Company of 1/5 conducted search and destroy missions in the area east of An Hoa and just south of Go Noi Island in Quang Nam Province. After months of exhaustive missions, they were ordered (in late April) to return to the 1/5 Command Post at 'Liberty Bridge' in order to relieve Bravo Company, which had been securing the bridge from enemy attack. This bridge crossed over the Song Thu Bon River and was a critical path for US supplies and troops and only a few miles from the large An Hoa combat base. LT Mike McCarthy (later LtCol, ret) had placed LCpl Tews as a squad leader at one end of the bridge, while another squad would conduct security patrols each day along the banks of the river. On April 30, 1969, Ernie and his radio operator was manning a sandbagged emplacement on the western shoulder of the bridge, looking upstream. Just as the patrol squad returned, they saw LCpl Tews cross over the bridge to the downstream side and jump into the river. One of the Marines asked him what was up and Earnie replied that his 'good luck' cigarette lighter had blown into the river (encased in a plastic case), was floating, and he was going to retrieve it. He began swimming about 20 yards out to a diving board that had been set up for recreation. Suddenly, the wind and current shifted. A Seabee who was watching Ernie saw him struggling and yelled to him if he needed help. He said "I think so" and went under. The Seabee jumped into the water from the middle of the bridge, grabbed him, and both of them went under. Another Seabee jumped in and swam to where both of the Marines had gone down. He dove under and grabbed one of the men by the hair to pull him up to the surface. It was the first Seabee. Tragically, LCpl Tews body was not found until the next day after an exhaustive search. Both of the Seabees were awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for Bravery for trying to save Ernie's life that day. Lance Corporal Earnest Tews, to this day, is remembered by his fellow Marines as a brave and respected leader. His tragic death still haunts many of them that were there. He died just over a month from his 21st birthday. LCpl Tews name is on the Vietnam Wall at Panel 26W, line 88.  |
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