Date of Birth: 01/10/1946
Neighborhood: Olney
High School: Olney High School
Street: 5727 North 12th Street
Branch of Service: Marine Corps
Rank: PVT
Date of Casualty: 02/06/1968
Province of Casualty: Thua Tien
Philadelphia Memorial Panel: Panel 30
Panel Row: 15
Click on the memorial panel below for a printable photo of the serviceman on this page.
"Jerry was well-liked by almost anyone he met because of his smile.. He was always willing and ready to help," said his father. The 22-year-old Marine private had graduated in January 1965 from Olney High School, where he played varsity baseball and table tennis. He had difficulty finding a full-time job he liked and enlisted that September. The assault-rocket gunner was sent to Vietnam, where he was assigned to Company H of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. Tillery was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions on Feb. 6, 1968, during the Tet Offensive. He led an antitank assault squad to a rooftop overlooking his unit's objective in Thua Thien Province and came under intense fire. He carried two injured soldiers to safety and returned to the rooftop where be knocked out seven enemy gun emplacements before he was fatally wounded. He was survived by his parents, five brothers and two sisters.