Career
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. 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 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 United States Ship Langley (CV-1) in the Philippines. With the threat of war imminent, Tills was assigned to United States Ship William B. Preston (AVD-7) stationed in Malalag Bay, Philippines.
William B. Preston served as a base for three PBY Catalinas 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 official
Shortly before 8:00 Department of Administration and Management, nine Mitsubishi A5M4 "Claudes" escorting 13 Nakajima B5N1 "Kate" from the Japanese carrier Ryujo approached Malalag Bay from Davao Gulf.
Ignoring United States Ship William B. Preston, they straffed the two helpless Catalinas 101-P-4 and 101-P-7 from VP-101. 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 World War World War II
In October 2007, the Joint Prisoner Of War/Master of International Affairs 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 United States. 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 Prisoner Of War/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.