Military Monday

Ray Henry Tapley

May 18, 1925 - December 25, 1971 

Newspapers.com, Chattanooga Daily Times, Chattanooga, Tennessee,
Saturday, February 19, 1944, Page 3

Pfc. Tapley Is Here on Furlough After 18 Months in Pacific Area

Pfc. Ray H. Tapley, 19, who was in the first group of marines to land on Guadalcanal, is spending a 45-day furlough here with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. S. H. Tapley, 310 Poplar Street.

Formerly employed in the circulation department of The Chattanooga Times, Tapley saw his first foreign service in Samoa. From there he went to New Caledonia, later going to Tulagi, Guadalcanal and the Russell Islands in the Solomon group. His last overseas duty before returning to the States was in New Zealand.

The 19-year-old youth, who enlisted in the marines in November of 1941, has served overseas approximately 18 months. Most of that time he spent driving trucks. Tapley returned to the United States last Nov. 26 and has served at Corona, Calif., since that time. His next assignment is the naval hospital at Memphis.

Among the service ribbons Tapley wears, one indicates a presidential citation. He was in the First Marine Division, all members of which were included in the citation. Other ribbons he wears are the Southwest Pacific Ribbon, which bears three stars for major battles; the American Theater Ribbon and the American Defense Ribbon.

Tapley attended Vocational High School. - Transcription by Google Gemini