Melvin Oscar Tuley
Corporal Melvin O. Tuley served with Able Company, First Separate Marine Battalion.
He was killed in action at Sangley Point, Cavite Navy Yard, Philippines 19 December 1941.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 279752
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
August 29, 1917
at Evansville, IN
Parents
Clarence John Tuley
Viola Elizabeth (Self) Tuley
Education
Sam Houston High School
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
January 2, 1940
at Dallas, TX
Home Of Record
1209 Crawford Street
Houston, TX
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Viola Tuley
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
First Separate Marine Battalion
Campaigns Served
Philippine Islands
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Melvin Tuhey enlisted in the Marine Corps from Dallas, Texas, and after boot camp in San Diego was posted to the Second Battalion, 4th Marines. He spent most of 1940 and 1941 in Shanghai, until his outfit was reassigned to defend the Philippine Islands. The 4th Marines sailed from Shanghai on 30 September 1941; four days later, Corporal Tuhey was in Cavite and being reassigned to Company A, First Separate Marine Battalion. His outfit was posted at Sangley Point manning beach defenses and anti-aircraft weapons. Their vigilance kicked into high gear when news of Pearl Harbor reached the Philippines – and on 10 December they watched in horror as Japanese bombers all but leveled Cavite Navy Yard.
The Japanese kept up their pressure, and on 19 December targeted the high-powered radio station at Cañacao, known as “Radio Sangley.” Bombs started falling at 1247 and touched off a fuel dump. According to one Marine, “the roar of the fire drowned the sound of the [airplane] motors and the sound of the bombs.” Marines raced among the exploding barrels, trying to save as much precious gasoline as possible. Five Marines – including Corporal Tuley, Assistant Cook Walter J. Theise, and Private Raymond D. Ford –were killed by bombs or fire.
Burial Information or Disposition
The three dead Marines from Company A were “interred locally” in Cañacao Cemetery – presumably near the recently vacated Naval hospital – and were left behind when Allied forces pulled back to the Bataan peninsula later in the month. Any markers may have been removed or destroyed during the Japanese occupation, and it is not known when (or if) American Graves Registration personnel visited the site.
The remains, if recovered, have never been identified.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Viola Tuley.
Location Of Loss
Tuley was stationed at a radio station on Sangley Point when it was bombed.
Marvin Tuley enlisted in the Marine Corps on January 2, 1940. After completing boot camp at MCRD San Diego, Pvt Tuley hopped across the water to the Casual Company at Mare Island and then boarded the USS Henderson on March 22 for transport to his first duty station.
Pvt Tuley next set foot on dry land on May 1, 1940 in Shanghai, China. He joined Company E, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, and was promoted to Private First Class that July. Tuley had a solid if unremarkable career with the famous China Marines for the rest of 1940. PFC Tuley was promoted to Corporal in 1941; he was also transferred to Company A in the regiment’s 1st Battalion. He shipped over to the Philippines with the regiment later that year as the threat of war loomed, and helped to prepare the islands to repel a possible Japanese attack. Cpl Tuley was killed on December 19, 1941. The location and circumstances of his death have not been recorded. Interestingly, Cpl Tuley was not awarded his posthumous Purple Heart until 1966. The reasons for this delay are unknown.
Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56750621/melvin-oscar-tuley
Changes have been requested at source cited above, which contains a portrait in military or JROTC school uniform.
Ancestry vital records indicate that Tuley was born at Evansville, IN:
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60871/images/45385_539582-01837?pId=8394034