Rody Joseph Tighe, born March 21, 1927 in Beacon, was the fourth child born to Michael and Joanna Tighe, both Irish immigrants. He grew upon Verplank Avenue and attended St. John's Roman Catholic Church and school.  When he was seventeen years old he begged his parents to sign papers giving him permission to leave high school so he could join the Navy. His older brother John, a Navy corpsman, was already serving in the Pacific and Rody wanted to serve the country of his birth before the war was over.  His parents reluctantly gave their permission and in April 1944 Rody departed for the Great Lakes Training Center. 

Upon completion  of basic training and fireman school he was assigned to the USS Spence, DD-512, as a fireman.  The Spence, a Fletcher class destroyer, had already seen much action by the time Rody joined her.  During his short time on board the Spence had participated in the liberation of the Philippines, the liberation of Leyte, and air strikes on Mindora and Luzon. On November 12 Spence's rudder jammed during refueling causing her to nearly collide with the USS Wasp. One week later, Spence prepared to refuel and pumped out all salt water ballast from her tanks. This operation was postponed due to heavy seas, breaking fuel lines and a near-collision with Admiral Halsey's flagship New Jersey. The next day, 18 December, the weather built into a Typhoon Cobra.  At about noon, Spence's rudder again jammed. Caught with insufficient ballast for the extreme conditions, she capsized and sank. Only 24 shipmates, all topside crew, survived to be rescued by USS Tabberer, DE-418, which also picked up survivors of the two other destroyers lost in the storm, Hull and Monaghan.

News of the sinking of the three ships made the radio news the next day.  The Tighe family was devastated with grief for their so listed as missing in action and concern for their other son's whereabouts and status.  Two days later the family sent a letter to Navy Personnel inquiring about John Tighe's status with a request that he be informed of his younger bother's almost certain death . When John Tighe was informed that his younger brother was missing in action and presumed dead he was serving in Okinawa. And, though he was offered the opportunity to return home, he elected to stay with the Marines until "the job was done". The family was not officially notified of Rody's death until April 1945

Rody's nephew John Magee tells the story that he met Jack Hawkes, a friend of Rody's one day. "He told me he may have been the last Beaconite to see Rody before his death. They met in Hawaii. Rody was heading out and Jack Hawkes was heading stateside. Jack said that Rody told him that if he ever made it back to Beacon, he would never leave it again."