Coy Tinsley was born in 1947 in Cleveland, Tennessee. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on March 30, 1968, and completed basic training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in June 1968. Pvt Tinsley next attended advanced individual training as an infantryman at Fort Campbell from June to August 1968, followed by NCO Candidate training at the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, from September to November 1968. He then deployed to Southeast Asia, serving as a rifleman with Company E, 4th Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Regiment in South Vietnam from January 1969 until he was captured and taken as a Prisoner of War on March 9, 1969. After spending 242 days in captivity, PFC Tinsley was released by his captors on November 5, 1969. He was briefly hospitalized to recover from his injuries at Fort Campbell, and then served as a senior rifleman with the Field Support Company at the U.S. Army Chemical School at Fort McClellan, Alabama, from January 1970 until he left active duty on March 29, 1971. SP4 Tinsley received his honorable discharge once his inactive reserve service was completed on March 1, 1974.

The Soldier's Creed:

I am an American Soldier.

I am a warrior and a member of a team.

I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first.

I will never accept defeat.

I will never quit.

I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.

I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.

I am an expert and I am a professional.

I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.

I am an American Soldier.