Memories! It was noon in Wurzburg, Germany on a bright sunny day in the summer of 1971. In Hindenburg Kaserne, home of the 3rd Infantry Division’s 123rd Signal Battalion, the steady thump-thump-thump of a basketball could be heard over the quiet hum of the trailer-mounted generators being tested for the monthly unannounced alert (Lariat Advance!) or for the next field training exercise. In the center of this daily lunchtime basketball ritual Captain Melvin Alton “Mel” Tinker, a former All-State quarterback from Idaho, track star, and captain of his high school football and basketball teams, was holding court.
Mel was born December 21, 1946 in Wendell, ID to Elwin Leslie Tinker and Frieda Lois Wychoff. Mel was handsome, hardworking, and athletic. He seemed to excel at anything he tried: an Eagle Scout, a straight A student, a rock to his family, and a nurturing uncle to his younger nephews. Mel was well grounded with a strong character and a love of family.
Mel’s nephew, Michael Tinker, said that Mel was “more than an uncle to me. He was my brother who I grew up with on Saturday mornings, watching TV and building with Tinker Toys.” Mel encouraged Michael and other youngsters, urging them to do well in school and in their other activities. He told Michael, “I want to see you become an Eagle Scout.” Michael related that in his letters home, Mel spoke often of Duty, Honor and Country, and that he was Michael’s “standard and role model … I wanted to be just like Melvin when I grew up.”
Cadet Tinker enjoyed great success, especially in intramurals with his companymates in D-2. Mel was very engaged with the Scoutmaster’s Council, the Fine Arts Forum, the Spanish Club, the Skiing Club, the Scuba Club and the Hop Committee. After graduation, Mel married his high school sweetheart, Terri Thornock. It was obvious to those around them that Mel adored Terri.
Before moving to Germany, to join the 123rd Signal Battalion, Mel successfully completed airborne training and endured the joys of being a winter Ranger. Classmate Bill Brittenham recalls one night “standing back-to-back with Mel shivering under a space blanket in the freezing rain during the mountain phase. “Our group ended up burning all of our maps except one to keep from freezing. Nothing else would burn. The radios would not work. We were all soaking wet, and our Ranger instructor was temporarily mis-oriented.” Mel endured Ranger School, as he did so many others challenges, with balance and humor.
Mel arrived in Germany in early 1970 and served as a platoon leader, then as the battalion S1, and finally as the headquarters company commander. Mel was a recognized leader in all respects, not just during the infamous lunchtime basketball tournaments, as his rapid progression through positions of increased responsibility attests.
During this time Terri encouraged Mel to return to his Mormon “roots.” Her efforts rekindled Mel’s spirituality, and he became a leader in the servicemen’s Latter-Day Saints congregation in Wurzburg.
In November of 1971, Mel and Terri took some time off to attend the Mormon Temple in Bern, Switzerland. They went there, in the words of their friend Bill Brittenham, to “reaffirm their wedding vows.” On their way home, they were involved in a traffic accident near Karlsruhe, Germany, and both of them were tragically killed. The testimonials flooded in. In their young lives they had touched many in a deep and positive way.
Classmate Brad Sparks, who knew Mel and Terri, briefly reminisced that “Memory fades and only the most outstanding people we encounter survive the slow, debilitating process. For me, Mel and Terry Tinker continue to live. What an outstanding officer with such a beautiful and intelligent wife! Charming, attractive, smart—they had the whole world ahead of them.” Classmate Bill Ward remembered Mel “as a warm, engaging individual with whom you’d never hesitate to walk up to and strike up a conversation even if you didn’t know him … we lost a good man that day.”
Perhaps the most intimate portrait of both Mel and Terri though, comes from Classmate Mike Hulten.  Mike and his wife Penny had a unique relationship with Mel and Terri. While it started at West Point, they did not actually become dear friends until serving together in the 123rd. That relationship started innocuously enough when both Mel and Mike branched Signal Corps. Their relationship became more intertwined weeks later when those who had chosen Signal Corps met to select their first unit assignments. It seems that just prior to unit assignment selections, four more slots in Germany were added to the overall mix. When assignments were selected, Mike got the second to last slot with the 123rd Signal Battalion, and Mel got the very last one. The stars and planets had aligned! Mike and Mel had an appointment with destiny. After getting to know Mel and Terri, Mike and Penny likewise found their spiritual roots, and were baptized by Mel into the LDS church.
Memories of noontime basketball, of weekend touch football, of signal support to troops of the Marne Division, of dinners together after church on Sunday, and so much more bring forth a wistful smile to those who served with them. Mel and Terri brought friendship and joy to all they met in this small community in a foreign land while war raged on another continent and much of the home front was in disarray.
Mel and Terri were two of the finest individuals one could hope to know. While they were taken too soon, we look forward to a wonderful reunion with them one day!
— Mike Hulten ’69 and classmates