George Ray Tweed

George Ray Tweed (July 2, 1902 – January 16, 1989) was a decorated radioman in the United States Navy who served during World War II. He is most famous for evading Japanese capture for two years and seven months after the surrender of the U.S. garrison on Guam in 1941.

Early life Tweed enlisted in the United States Navy in 1922 and attended the basic training at Naval Station Great Lakes. He also attended the Radioman School and served in Navy radio units until 1940, when he was transferred to the Naval Base Guam.

At the time a 16-year veteran of the Navy with the rank of Radioman First Class, Tweed was serving in the Navy Communication Office when the Japanese invaded the island on December 8, 1941, in the First Battle of Guam.

Tweed's story is told in short in the official US Navy documentary on the Battle of Guam as well as in his 1945 book Robinson Crusoe, USN. His story was also dramatized in the 1962 movie No Man Is an Island, starring Jeffrey Hunter as Tweed. He appeared on the television show To Tell the Truth on October 22, 1962, where two of the four panelists correctly identified him over the two imposters.

Decorations George Ray Tweed's ribbon bar: