Ryland Dillard Tisdale Commander Ryland Dillard Tisdale ( November 15 , 1894 – May 23 , 1942 ) was an American naval officer who served during both World Wars I and II . He was awarded the Navy Cross and posthumously the Silver Star . World War I participation . Tisdale was trained at the Naval Ordnance Proving Ground ( now the Naval Ordnance Station ) located in Charles County , Maryland , about 25 miles south of Washington , D . C . He was appointed a midshipman at the U . S . Naval Academy on July 7 , 1911 and graduated on June 5 , 1915 . Between his commissioning and the entry of the United States into World War I , Ens . Tisdale served in and . On June 5 , 1917 , less than two months after the declaration of war , Tisdale reported on board USAT " Antilles " , apparently for duty with an armed - guard gun crew assigned to that chartered Army transport . He served in that ship until she was torpedo ed off Brest , France , on October 17 . Tisdale subsequently received a special letter of commendation from the Secretary of the Navy for displaying " . . . coolness and courage in command of the forward guns , . . . " and for not leaving his post " . . . until he was forced to dive from the bridge of the sinking vessel . " Tisdale also assisted other Antilles survivors onto life rafts . He was picked up by either or and taken into Brest . On October 23 , he took passage on for Great Britain , where he reported for duty to the senior United States Navy officer present . After temporary duty on , he returned to the United States on December 12 . Inter - war activity . In late January 1918 , Tisdale took a three - week course of instruction at the Fuel Oil Testing Plant in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . From there , he went to Bath , Maine , for duty in connection with the outfitting and commissioning of . When she was placed in commission on July 31 , Lt . Tisdale became her engineering officer . From Wickes , he went to as executive officer and in December 1919 moved to where he held the same post . " Tisdale ' s " tour of duty in Hogan ended on June 11 , 1920 when he reported to the Naval Academy for post graduate studies in engineering . A year later , he checked in at the New York Navy Yard for practical instruction during the summer , before entering Columbia University on September 28 for further course work which lasted until the early summer of 1922 , when he moved to the General Electric Co . in Schenectady , New York , until the end of July . Tisdale rounded out his scholastic efforts late that summer with six weeks of study at the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co . , at Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . Tisdale returned to sea duty in the fall of 1922 . On October 16 , he reported to in Philadelphia and , on November 8 , transferred to . He served in that battleship until April 1925 , when he went ashore once more , this time to a billet in the Bureau of Engineering . In 1927 , he completed his tour in Washington and returned to sea as executive officer of . On September 25 , 1928 , he reported for duty at Shanghai , China . Earning the Navy Cross . Five days later , he assumed his first command , the Asiatic Fleet destroyer . That command lasted 13 months . He was detached on October 31 , 1929 and , after a month with the 16th Naval District , Lt . Comdr . Tisdale took over his second command , , and began patrolling the upper reaches of the Yangtze in that gunboat . During this tour of duty , Lt . Comdr . Tisdale earned the Navy Cross . Late in July 1930 , he and his ship were in the vicinity of Changsha when that city was attacked , taken , looted , and lost by Chinese communists . Tisdale and his crew assisted in the evacuation of Americans and other foreigners . He also led his crew and ship past the city for two firing passes as a show of force to discourage looting of the foreign concessions . The citation states , in part , that , " . . . the loss of American and other foreign property was limited by his timely action . " Lt . Comdr . " Tisdale ' s " next assignment took him to the Georgia School of Technology for a two - year tour of duty with the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps detachment located there . From there , he went back to the Asiatic Fleet to join the staff of the Commander , Destroyer Squadron 5 . He served in that capacity from January 19 to November 11 , 1935 when he became Captain of the Yard at Olongapo in the Philippines . Tisdale was placed on the retired list on June 30 , 1936 , with the rank of commander . World War II . In 1940 , the United States began preparing for the contingency of war . Comdr . Tisdale returned to the colors in July and served for a brief period in the Bureau of Ships at Washington , D . C . In October , he was relieved of duty ; however , within another month , he was back on active duty . On January 14 , 1941 , Tisdale reported for duty at the Cavite Navy Yard near Manila in the Philippines . He served in the defense of those islands after the Japanese invasion on December 8 , 1941 . After the surrender at Corregidor in May 1942 , Tisdale continued to resist the enemy on Mindanao . On May 23 , 1942 , he was killed at Tamparan in Lanao Province during action with Moros — who had collaborated with the Japanese . Comdr . Tisdale was awarded the Silver Star for his actions in the Philippines . The citation states : The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Silver Star ( Posthumously ) to Commander ( Retired ) Ryland D . Tisdale ( NSN : 0 - 8990 ) , United States Navy , for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action in the Philippine Islands during World War II . Commander Tisdale was offered passage on the last plane to leave Corregidor when it was apparent that surrender was inevitable . Commander Tisdale refused and offered his place in the plane to Mr . Kuder who also refused . Commander Tisdale was quoted as saying that he preferred to remain and see the thing through . Mr . Kuder stated that on Thursday , April 30 , 1942 , the fighting in the area around Damsalan was very heavy , and that Commander Tisdale banded together a small group of officers and enlisted men , including some civilians , and threw in with Lieutenant Colonel Vesy of the Philippine Army to make a last stand against the Japanese . Namesake . The , commissioned on October 11 , 1943 , was named in his honor .