Thomas Rienzi

Thomas Matthew Rienzi (February 5, 1919 – December 15, 2010) was a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army Signal Corps who served during World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War. He implemented the modernization of signal units from the usage of just wire and radio, through the growth of strategic satellite communications, to the integration of computer systems at even the tactical level.

Early life and education Rienzi was born on February 5, 1919, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of successful clothiers Luigi and Ethel Rienzi. Graduating from West Philadelphia Catholic High School, he accepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, from which he graduated in 1942. From there, he was assigned to the Army Signal Corps.

Career World War II After graduating from Fort Monmouth's Signal Center and School he was assigned to the China-Burma-India Campaign. From there he was transferred to command a company in the 96th Signal Battalion of the 96th Infantry Division. In 1945 he attended the Command and General Staff College, then taught at the Signal School in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.

Interwar Years Rienzi returned from World War II to his hometown and married Clare Moore in 1946. They would later have two children, Thomas Rienzi Jr. and daughter Sherri. He received his master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois in 1948. Assigned to the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project at Sandia Base, New Mexico, he trained atomic weapons technicians, planning and implementing over 40 test detonations. He then served as a tactical instructor at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1955. He became commander of the 51st Signal Battalion in Korea in 1957. After this, he was assigned to the Joint Planning and Army Logistics at the Senior United States Headquarters at Honolulu, Hawaii. During this time the Army implemented new generations of electronically secured voice communications systems, and Rienzi and his staff oversaw its integration and implementation. This integration was complicated by implementing the program of Vietnamization of duties and resources.

Later life and death In 1970, Rienzi was assigned as commander of the Strategic Communications Command of the Pacific at Fort Shafter in Honolulu, Hawaii. In June 1972, he was made the Chief Signal Officer of the U.S. Army. In August 1977, he was promoted to lieutenant general, assuming the position of Deputy Director General, Chief of Staff, and Chief Engineer of the NATO Integrated Communications System Management Agency in Brussels, Belgium.

Rienzi died on December 15, 2010, at Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, and was buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. He was presented the International Meritorious Service Award by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association and the Medical Corps Award of Merit for his hospital ministry as a deacon at Tripler Army Medical Center.

Legacy Rienzi is survived by his daughter (his wife and son having passed on already), three grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren. Rienzi commanded units of the United States Army's most technical branch during the transition from wire and cable, vacuum tube radio and visual signals, through the advent of transistorized radio, teletype, electronically secured voice communications and satellite communications.