Nyal Marford Selby
Corporal Nyal M. Selby served with Baker Company, First Battalion, 4th Marines.
He was killed in action at Corregidor on 6 May 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 279887
Current Status
Remains not recovered.
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
December 27, 1919
at Wildhorse, OK
Parents
Oscar David Selby
Annie (Harrell) Selby
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
January 4, 1940
at Oklahoma City, OK
Home Of Record
Skiatook, OK
Next Of Kin
Parents, Oscar & Annie Selby
Military Specialty
Military Policeman
Primary Unit
B/1/4th Marines
Campaigns Served
Philippine Islands / Corregidor
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Enlisted and served with younger brother Harold Vernon Selby.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Corporal Nyal Selby, a pre-war China Marine from rural Oklahoma, served with the 4th Marines prior to the war. He enlisted alongside, and served with, his younger brother Harold Selby until mid-1941; Nyal was sent to Baker Company, while Harold went to Easy Company. Both brothers would participate in the defense of the Philippine Islands in the early months of 1942, and wound up trapped on Corregidor during the siege.
On the night of 5 May 1942, Japanese forces landed on the island in overwhelming numbers. The defenders were gradually forced back from their prepared positions and corralled near Malinta Tunnel; at noon on 6 May, the garrison capitulated. Thousands were marched off into captivity – among them Corporal Harold Selby. He must have searched anxiously for his brother, but in vain. Nyal Selby was killed in action during the Japanese assault.
Burial Information or Disposition
Nyal Selby’s body was seen on the battlefield; Platoon Sergeant William Haynes testified as much, and the information was used to confirm Selby’s death.
A typed note included with Selby’s Marine Corps Casualty Card provides additional insight – and quite unusual for a Corregidor casualty:
Killed on Corregidor or Fort Mills, Philippines, May 6 1942 at 8:00 AM after fighting all night. He was buried at 9:00 AM on Corregidor just below and to the right from the water tower between Denver Battery and the old airplane hangar. Pencil notation in the service record book of his brother, Harold Vernon Selby.
The writer of the original notation is not known.
Memorials
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
Corporal Harold Selby died in the sinking of the hellship Arisan Maru on 24 October 1944.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Oscar & Annie Selby.
Location Of Loss
Vicinity of the Battery Denver water towers where Selby was last seen.
