Patrol Inspector Doyne C. Melton

Doyne C. Melton

Patrol Inspector Doyne Melton was shot and killed as he and several other inspectors attempted to apprehend 13 smugglers as they waded ashore in El Paso, Texas, with 150 cases of illegal liquor. One smuggler hidden on the American side opened fire, as did the other smugglers. Inspector Melton was struck in the heart in the opening volley and died at the scene.

The other inspectors shot and killed two smugglers and wounded another as they fled back into Mexico.

Inspector Melton was survived by his wife, Lucille Mann Melton. He was buried in Conyers, Georgia. He had served in the U.S. Marine Corps prior to joining the U.S. Border Patrol, and was a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.

Twenty days later on December 27, 1933, U.S. Border Patrol Inspector Bert G. Walthall, who had survived the gun battle that killed Inspector Melton, was himself was shot and killed by smugglers in El Paso County.