Texas Lottery Veteran Recognition: Thomas McCay

Thomas McCay turned a lifelong love of flying into a decorated U.S. Air Force career, which included hundreds of combat missions as a fighter pilot, followed by a second career as a high school instructor and mentor to junior cadets and the next generation of public servants.

"I got lucky to diversify and have the career that I did," said McCay, who retired from the Air Force in 1989 as a colonel and command Pilot.

McCay was inspired to fly at a young age by a photograph of his mother's brother, a World War II pilot. McCay saw the airplane and his uncle's leather jacket and scarf, and recalled saying, "I want to do that."

A Florida high school athlete, McCay participated in baseball at the University of Florida, but found a better fit with the Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). Once McCay passed the aptitude tests, the ROTC program paid for his private pilot's license.

"Flying proved to be everything I wanted," McCay said.

He graduated from Florida and the ROTC program in 1965 and began pilot training at Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas. McCay said it was an intense year of learning and competition, which instilled the excellence that Air Force pilots need to perform in combat.

McCay deployed to Vietnam as an F-4 fighter pilot, flying 157 combat missions.

"That's why you train, to trust your training," McCay said. "The fighter pilot attitude is that second place is the first loser, because in battle if you come in second, you don't come home."

McCay said he was fortunate to have a roommate in Vietnam who was on his second combat tour. They learned from each other – McCay shared his disciplined approach, such as studying targets the day before a mission, while his roommate offered outside-the-box wisdom from previous combat experiences.

Later, as a T-37 instructor pilot, McCay provided similar lessons, teaching both from the textbook and his knowledge of real-life combat experiences. His different approach to instruction proved to be a game-changer in his post-Air Force career.

From 1994 to 2008, McCay served as senior aerospace science instructor with the Air Force Junior ROTC in Houston's inner city Galena Park Independent School District.

McCay implemented a values-based curriculum and citizenship program, relying on experiential learning and field visits to teach skills and broaden the students' horizons and expectations. The students were empowered by their distinction as cadets, pride in the uniform, and the program's structure.

"They had a place to belong to. They had friends. It was exactly what they needed," McCay said.

And it turned out to be exactly what McCay needed, too. Even after a distinguished flying career, multiple command appointments, and a senior officer position at the Pentagon, McCay said he felt as if there was more to accomplish.

"It wasn't until I worked with the high school kids that I began to self-actualize," McCay said.

McCay has one son and two daughters-in-law who graduated from the University of Texas. He also has two grandsons who are members of the UT Marching Band. McCay plans to attend the game with his wife and family.

Thanks to the Texas Lottery, great things are happening all across Texas. The Texas Lottery now consistently contributes more than $2 billion of lottery revenue each year to good causes like public education and veterans' assistance programs. Beginning with the first veterans' dedicated scratch ticket game in 2009, the Texas Lottery has now contributed over $250 million to the Fund for Veterans' Assistance.

Since 1992, the Texas Lottery has generated more than $39 billion in revenue for the state of Texas. Through strict adherence to their vision, mission and core values, the Texas Lottery is dedicated to ensuring that this support continues.

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