Wilbur Bagley was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on 23 June 1920. He was the oldest of four children born to Wilbur and Mildred Bailey, and spent much of his childhood in the Twin Cities. The family relocated to Des Moines for a brief period in the 1930s; Wilbur attended Roosevelt High School, but ultimately graduated from Denfield High when the Bagleys moved to Duluth, Minnesota.

Wilbur worked briefly as a hardware clerk with his father, but in the summer of 1940 he decided to join the service alongside his cousin, John Longeway.

Wilbur and John enlisted on 17 July 1940 at the Minneapolis recruiting station, and were sent to San Diego for boot camp. They were separated at the end of their initial training: Private Longeway was sent to the 8th Marines, while Private Bagley stayed on with the recruit depot’s headquarters detachment.

Bagley went on to serve with the Marine detachment aboard the battleship USS Maryland – he was present at the bombing of Pearl Harbor and in the battle of Midway.

Bagley attained the rank of sergeant before transferring from the “Old Mary” in the summer of 1943. He took on a very different assignment as an NCO in C/1/3rd Marines – an infantry unit preparing for the invasion of the northern Solomon Islands.

At the end of October 1943, Sergeant Bagley and Charlie Company boarded the USS President Adams for transit to a new beachhead at Cape Torokina on the island of Bougainville.

On the morning of 1 November 1943, C/1/3rd Marines boarded their landing craft from the Adams. Sergeant Bagley boarded Boat 21, which carried two squads of 2 Platoon, a detachment from Headquarters Company, and a demolition squad from the 19th Marines.

The landing was stiffly opposed by the Japanese defenders ashore, and a number of Adams landing craft were hit before reaching shore. Boat #21, in the third wave, took the most punishment. Three 75mm shells slammed through the ramp in quick succession, killing or wounding most of the Marines aboard as well as members of the boat crew.

Boat #21 careened up onto the beach, where five Marines managed to escape over the side. A member of the Adams shore party took command, backed the boat off the beach, and headed towards the transports at top speed. As the boat filled with water, those still able to move struggled to put on life jackets.

The wrecked boat finally sank at an unspecified point near Puruata Island. One sailor and five Marines were rescued from the water; the rest, including Bagley, were lost at sea.

Wilbur Bagley was reported as missing in action “after initial landing” on Bougainville. He was officially declared dead on 2 November 1944.

“After the first shell hit, the men in the forward part of the boat fell back toward the center as if a big wave had pushed them over. A shell fragment from the second hit me in the left thigh. The boat grounded, and I started over the side. It was an awful mess. Bloody men pulled themselves off the deck and forced themselves over the side. One man had part of his back blown off. Everyone kept hold of his rifle. Some of them only had half a rifle. The water was up to my chin. As I hit the sand, I looked back and saw that Smith wasn’t going to make it; he had a wound in his head. He was one of my boys. I went back, pulled him in, and dragged him behind a coconut log.”
Sergeant Dick K. McAllister, C/1/3

“Of the eight boats in the third wave, Boat #21 received three 75mm hits through the ramp just prior to hitting the beach. Five Marines were seen to climb out over the side, the remainder were killed or wounded. NICKELS (coxswain) and BALSCHUESMAN (bowman) jumped off stern of boat and were picked up by Boat #10. A member of the beach party, F1c Gilbert VARRIA backed boat #21 off the beach. The majority of the Marines embarked were wounded or killed. CM3 Raymond SCAPPAROTTA and MoMM2c Harvey PETERSON of the Ship’s Company were killed or wounded. VARRIA operated the boat at the highest speed away from the beach. It was filling rapidly. A few Marines were able to move to put on life jackets. This boat sank after passing between Puruata and Torokina Islands. In all, five Marines and VARRIA were the only ones saved….”
– Action Report of Torokina Point Landings, USS President Adams, 1 November 1943

CENOTAPHS
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial

The USS Noxubee (AOG-56) was built by Cargill in Minnesota and sponsored by Mildred Bagley in Wilbur’s honor.