Robert Tills Robert George Tills ( 9 March 1918 – 8 December 1941 ) was an officer and pilot of the United States Navy who became the first American naval officer killed during the Battle of the Philippines and had a ship named after him in his honor . His body was lost at sea during the battle and was recovered in November 2007 and officially identified in December 2008 . He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on 23 March 2009 with full military honors . Career . On 24 May 1937 , Robert Tills enlisted in the Naval Reserves as a Seaman Second Class and reported for active duty on 14 June . He was appointed an aviation cadet on 3 August 1938 , and reported for flight training at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola , Florida . On 18 September 1939 , 17 days after World War II began in Europe , Tills was commissioned as an ensign in the Naval Reserve and assigned to Patrol Wing 2 , Patrol Squadron 21 . On 14 April 1941 , Tills was upgraded to regular Navy status and commissioned as an Ensign . At this time , Tills was flying patrols with Patrol Wing 10 from USS " Langley " ( CV - 1 ) in the Philllippines . With the threat of war imminent , Tills was assigned to USS " William B . Preston " ( AVD - 7 ) stationed in Malalag Bay , Philippines . " William B . Preston " served as a base for three PBY Catalina s tasked with patrolling the eastern parts of the Celebes Sea , one of which was flown by Tills . Early on 8 December 1941 , " William B . Preston " received a radio dispatch : " Japan started hostilities ; govern yourselves accordingly . " " Preston " and her planes prepared for war . One Catalina took off immediately to search for Japanese ships in the area while Tills and the other Catalina stayed in the waters of Malalag Bay , ready to take off . Shortly before 8 : 00 AM , nine Mitsubishi A5M4 " Claudes " escorting 13 Nakajima B5N1 " Kate " from the Japanese carrier " Ryujo " approached Malalag Bay from Davao Gulf . Ignoring USS " William B . Preston " , they straffed the two helpless Catalinas 101 - P - 4 and 101 - P - 7 from VP - 101 . Ensign Robert Tills was killed by enemy fire while onboard his Catalina . The rest of the crew escaped unharmed and the Catalina sank to the bottom of the bay with Tills ' s remains still on board . Robert Tills ' s body was never found and he joined a list with 78 , 000 other Americans missing in action during World War II . Discovery of remains . In October 2007 , the Joint POW / MIA Accounting Command ( JPAC ) was notified by authorities in the Philippines that aircraft wreckage bearing the markings " PBY - 4 " had been found in Malalag Bay . The next month , a JPAC team , along with the Joint U . S . Military Assistance Group - Philippines and the Philippines Coast Guard ( PCG ) , surveyed the site and discovered the wreckage of the Catalina and recovered Robert Tills ' s remains . He was later identified through the use of dental records . On 1 December 2008 , the Department of Defense POW / Missing Personnel Office ( DPMO ) announced that they had identified the remains of Ensign Robert Tills and will be returning his remains to his family for burial with full military honors . Ensign Robert Tills was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on 23 March 2009 .