"He was soft-spoken, gentle, not easily angered and forgave quickly and he was full of the wisdom given him by God," recalled Ashlock's sister. Ashlock graduated from Edward Bok Vocational High School in 1964, where a teacher remembers the former commercial art student as a "quiet gentleman." Expecting to enter art school with his service pay, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in October 1964. He was sent to Vietnam in June 1966. The 21-year-old sergeant was wounded during Operation Sutter against Viet Cong forces in December 1966, but returned to duty with a rocket unit of Company D of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, and 1st Marine Division. Ashlock disappeared on May 12, 1967, as darkness fell after daylong combat in a valley near Que Son, Quang Nam Province. He was not found during an intensive search the following morning, and was declared missing in action. Ashlock is one of nine MIAs from Philadelphia. He was survived by his parents and six brothers and sisters.