07/22/2024
***Update at Bottom***
MIA Merrillâs Marauder replacement âBuckâ Bagleyâs remains identified in 80th year after his combat death
Itâs been a week since Nathan âWoodyâ Bagley, 80, from Rincon, GA, received a life-altering call from William E. Cox, Past Conflict Repatriation Branch, FT Knox, KY telling him that remains of his father, Luther E. âBuckâ Bagley, had been identified.
His father, who has been MIA since he was Killed in Action July 25, 1944, was one of about 2,500 reinforcements to the expendable, top-secret 5307th Composite Unit Provisional, better known as Merrillâs Marauders, flown into Myitkyina, Burma to fight against the superior Japanese 18th Division.
âWoodyâ was stunned after answering Coxâs 9 AM call on Tuesday, May 14th, and learning that DNA heâd sent in years ago had enabled his fatherâs remains to be identified.
âSomehow I managed to talk and answer Coxâs questions, but I actually went into a âlockdownâ state and reality didnât hit me until after the call ended,â said âWoody.â âI walked toward my wife, Pat, to tell her, and I couldnât talk. Pat thought something horrible had happened since it was 10 minutes before I could speak. Both of us were crying.â
âWoodyâ and Pat immediately drove to Pembroke, GA, to gather with other family members and tell his mother, Eleanor Stark, who turns 100 in September, that âBuckâ would be coming home. Tears began flowing again.
âThe only thing we know at this point is that his remains have been identified,â said âWoody,â explaining that funeral details and additional information will be officially provided by the Army.
Woody was 11 months old and his mother was 19 when a relative went to Southeastern Shipbuilding Corp., in Savannah, where she was working as a Rosie the Riveter, to tell her âBuckâ had been Killed In Action in Burma July 25, 1944, at age 22.
âBuckâ was 20 years old â and Eleanor 17 â when he was drafted in 1942 from his hometown of Fitzgerald, GA. He had been working in a cotton mill after quitting high school to support his parents.
Eleanor and baby âWoodyâ were able to visit âBuckâ only once after he joined the Army and before he shipped out of Fort Meade, MD port of embarkation âto parts unknown.â
âEven though I remarried and have three wonderful daughters, âBuckâ was the âgreat love of my lifeâ,â said Eleanor. âI am grateful that God let me live long enough to make this happen. I have been waiting with a broken heart for 80 years.â
âBuckâ was a Private First Class, K Company, assigned to the 5307th Composite Unit Provisional, nicknamed Merrillâs Marauders, when he arrived in the China Burma India Theater in late May 1944.
After northern Burmaâs strategic Myitkyina airfield had been seized May 17, 1944, with only about 200 combat capable Merrillâs Marauders remaining, âBuck was among the first 5307th CUP reinforcements flown in to help hold the airfield and capture the town of Myitkyina.
When âBuckâ was Killed In Action July 25, 1944, it was only one week from when the town of Myitkyina finally fell Aug. 3, 1944. One week later, the 5307th CUP dissolved Aug. 10, 1944.
The tiny number of remaining Marauders plus the 5307th CUP replacements became the 475th Infantry. Todayâs 75th Ranger Regiment, headquartered at Fort Moore, GA (previously Fort Benning) traces its lineage to Merrillâs Marauders. The 75th Ranger Regiment crest is the Marauder patch.
In 2020, a Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the Merrillâs Marauder unit, honoring all the men who had served in the 5307th CUP up until it was dissolved Aug. 10, 1944, âin recognition of their bravery and outstanding service in the jungles of Burma during WW II.â
The last living Merrillâs Marauder, Russell âHuckâ Hamler, who died Dec. 26, 2023, at age 99 in Pennsylvania, was interred January 19, 2024, at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies near Pittsburgh.
****UPDATE****
The Funeral for this Veteran will be Aug 10th in Fitzgerald, Ga. The Veterans of Emanuel County have received a 48 Star Flag that will be draped over the casket. The Georgia VFW District 6 has also requested Memorial Certificates from National Headquarters to be presented to the family
