Earle Metzger Shiley was born on October 31, 1912, in Pennsylvania. He was the son of Frank B. Shiley and Carrie May Metzger Shiley. After completing his elementary education in Anne Arundel County, he graduated from Annapolis High School in June 1929. He enlisted in the Coast Artillery Corps on July 1, 1932, at Fort Monroe, Virginia, where he attended the West Point Preparatory School. He later received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy, entering West Point on July 2, 1934. After graduating in 1938, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Coast Artillery Corps and stationed at Fort Monroe, Virginia, before transferring in March 1939 to Fort Mills, Corregidor, Philippines.

Serving as Assistant Post Exchange Officer, he later trained Philippine troops before the outbreak of war. He rose to First Lieutenant in 1940 and Captain in 1941, and during the defense of Corregidor, his bravery and leadership earned him both the Silver Star and an Oak Leaf Cluster for gallantry in action. When Corregidor surrendered, he was taken prisoner of war by the Japanese. He was transferred from Cabanatuan to Bilibid Prison and was later sent to Japan. After enduring the hellish voyage aboard the Japanese prison ships, where countless men perished from starvation, disease, and bombings, he was among the few who survived the journey and reached Japan. Weak and emaciated from months of suffering at sea, he was sent to Fukuoka Prison Camp, where the harsh winter and lack of medical care took their toll. Despite his endurance through the horrors of transport, his strength finally gave out, and he died of pneumonia on February 2, 1945. He is now buried in the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Lemay Township, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, alumni.westpointaog.org