Robert Tuggle, Jr.
Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class - AOM 1/c

Robert was born in Eastland, Texas on January 4, 1925 and graduated from Brownwood High School.  Robert's experiences of growing up in Brownwood, Texas were documented by his boyhood friend John Eugene Clardy in the book titled "Confessions of the Willis Creek Gang."

He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1943 and served aboard the USS Makassar Strait (CVE-91) in the attached Squadron VC-97.  He was the rear gunner on a Grumman TBM Avenger.

On the morning of April 15, 1945, crewmates Robert Tuggle Jr.,  Lt.Vernon Tebo and Warren Loyd ARM 1/c. were shot down over Ishigaki Island and killed in action.  The Bilingual Memorial Monument on Ishigaki Island and Fredericksburg Memorial are dedicated to these fallen heroes.

The Bilingual Memorial Monument  is dedicated to Squadron VC-97 airmen, Robert Tuggle Jr., AOM 1/c; LT.Vernon Tebo and Warren Loyd ARM 1/c.

On the morning of April 15, 1945, in the closing days of World War II, their Grumman TBF Avenger, assigned to the carrier USS Makassar Strait, was shot down off the coast of Ishigaki Island by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The three aviators parachuted in to the water near Ohama and swam to a coral reef where they were captured by Japanese sailors. After being interrogated and tortured they were executed during the night at the foot of Mount Banna, at the Imperial Navy Headquarters.

To console the spirits of the three fallen American service members and to honor their deaths, we jointly dedicate this monument in the hope that this memorial stone will contribute to the everlasting peace and friendship between Japan and the United States, and that this monument will serve as a cornerstone to convey to future generations our keen desire for eternal peace in the world and our determination to renounce war.

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A memorial dedication was held on June 18, 2011 at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas.  Air Squadron VC-97 crew members Robert Tuggle Jr., Vernon L Tebo, and Warren H Loyd were honored along with USS Shipley Bay (CVE-85) Catapult Crewman Philip W Nearing.  The dedication included full military honors presented by the United States Navy and United States Marines.

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