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Carl Vernon Bagger
Lilah Crowe2022-10-06T16:16:34-05:00
- Name: Carl Vernon Bagger
- Location of Birth: Moose Lake, Minnesota
- Date of Birth: April 7, 1917
- Date of Death: January 25, 1962
- Parents: Karl Gustav Bagger & Amelia (Anderson) Bagger
- High School and Class: 1935 Greenway High School, Coleraine, Minnesota
- College:
- Highest Rank: 1st LT (1st Lieutenant)
- Branch: Air Force
- Other Branch:
- Date Sworn In: December 2, 1942
- Place Sworn In: Fort Snelling, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Date of Discharge: August 14, 1957 from US Air Force Reserves
- Place of Discharge:
-
- Military Awards:
Air Medal with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters
EAME (European-African-Middle Eastern) Theatre Ribbon with 3 Bronze Stars
- Military Highlights:
WW II Draft Registration Cards – 10/16/1940 – 03/31/1947
State: Minnesota
Name: Carl Vernon Bagger
Race: White
Age: 23
Birth Date: April 7, 1917
Birth Place: Moose Lake, Carlton, Minnesota, USA
Residence Place: Pengilly, Itasca, Minnesota, USA
Registration Date: October 16, 1940
Employer: Bovey Mercantile, Co., Bovey, Itasca, Minnesota
Weight: 180
Height: 5-8
Complexion: Light
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Brown
Next of Kin: Mrs. Carl Vernon Bagger, wife, Pengilly, Itasca, Minnesota, USA
Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota - September 10, 1943 -
"Santa Ana, California, August 19, 1943. Dear Friends: I will not offer the customary excuse of not having time to write. Although I am very busy, the best reason I can give is just not getting around to write. As you probably know by this time, I am stationed at the Santa Ana Army Air Base, training as a pilot. Prior to appointment as Aviation Cadet, I attended College at Eau Claire, Wisc. Although only a short distance from Bovey, I was only able to get home once. Mainly because the Air Corp is not very lenient with furloughs. In other words, there just aren't any until graduation and usually not then. However, I am looking forward to getting home early next spring if my luck holds out. I want to take this opportunity to thank the Bovey Service Men's Club for the diary which, by the way, I have kept up-to-date, from the day I received my call to the present time. It's only been about seven months, but seems like a life time. I want to thank you for the Bovey Press which is the only means of finding out what the rest of the boys are doing and where they are. I know the boys in the service appreciate the cooperation of the Press and Ann Shustarich in keeping them informed on what's going on. If any one from Bovey is stationed in and around Los Angeles, I would appreciate knowing. In our very limited spare time, perhaps we could get together and talk things over. My present address is A-C Carl V. Bagger, Sqdn. 16, Pilot School A.A.A.B., Santa Ana, California. Please forward my paper to this address. Thank much. Sincerely, Vern Bagger."
Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota - December 17, 1943 -
"Dear Horace,
Don't faint when you receive this letter. I know I should have written months ago, but you know how it is. I suppose by this time you've had most of your fall hunting, except deer. I hope you had good luck. That's what I miss in the Army. No change of season, so to speak, where I am. One day is exactly like the day before. I have been here for about six weeks now with about three more to go. Then on to Basic. We have been flying like hell, trying to stay ahead of bad weather, and so far we've been very lucky. Say, Horace, you wanted a Christmas greeting of some kind for the paper. I don't know just you long you want it, so I'll enclose something and you can feel at liberty to change it in any way that is necessary to suit your requirements. Thanks heaps for the opportunity to greet the folks back home, and for your work in keeping us informed of conditions in general in good old Bovey.
Sincerely, Vern (Bagger)."
Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota - March 31, 1944 -
"COMPLETED BASIC - Cadet Carl V. Bagger, Bovey, son of Gust Bagger, Pengilly, has successfully completed the Basic Flying Training course, and was graduated today from the Marana Army Air Field, Tuscon, Arizona. He will be sent to an Advanced Flying School to complete the last phase of his cadet training, after which he will be awarded his silver wings as a pilot in the Army Air Corps."
Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota - October 13, 1944 –
"221st Combat Crew Training school, Public Relations Office, Army Air Field, Alexandria, La. – 2nd Lt. Carl V. Bagger, co-pilot, of Pengilly, will soon complete an intensive course in combat flying at the Alexandria Army Air Field, and in the near future he will go overseas to a combat area. He is the member of a Flying Fortress crew trained by the Second Army Air Force, which has the task of readying four-engine bomber crews for overseas duty. Listed among the instructors at the Alexandria Army Air Field are many officers and enlisted men who have seen action in every theatre of war. These veterans direct crews through training conditions that simulate actual combat, stressing teamwork, formation flying and high altitude missions. Lt. Bagger attended Greenway high school at Coleraine. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Gust Bagger of Pengilly. His wife, Rosalee Lee Bagger lives in Bovey."
Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota - January 12, 1945 –
"An Eighth Air Force Bomber Station, England – Second Lieutenant Carl V. Bagger, 27, co-pilot on an Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress, has been awarded the Air Medal for meritorious achievement while participating in heavy bombardment missions in the air offensive against the enemy over Nazi Germany. The presentation was made by the commanding officer, Colonel Robert Taylor, 3rd, of Ruxton, MD. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Gust Bagger, Pengilly. His wife, the former Rosella Lee, lives at home with his parents. Prior to his entry into the AAF, February, 1943, he was employed as manager of Baggers Appliance Store, Grand Rapids. Lt. Bagger is a member of the 487th Bomb Group, which is a unit of the Third Bombardment Division, the division cited by the President for its now historic England-Africa shuttle bombing of the Messerschmitt airplane factories at Regensburg in southern Germany, August 1943."
Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota - June 15, 1945 –
"Miami Beach, Fla. – 1st Lieutenant Carl V. Bagger, 28, of Bovey, has arrived at Army Air Forces Redistribution Station No. 2 in Miami Beach for reassignment processing after completing a tour of duty outside the continental United States. Medical examinations and classification interview at this pioneer redistribution station, operated b y the AAF Personnel Distribution Command for AAF officers and enlisted men, determine his new assignment. In the words of Col. Ralph Rhudy, post commanding officer, "Putting the returnee in the right job, after we have once established his physical and mental readiness for reassignment, is the mission of this post." During the processing, he is housed in an ocean-front hotel and enjoys abundant facilities for rest and recreation in this year-round beneficial climate. Lt. Bagger flew 35 combat missions as pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber in the European theater of operations, for which he was awarded the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters."
- Wars Involved:
World War II
Korean War
- MIA / POW:
- Civilian Life:
Carl Bagger married Rosella Lee in 1939 and was an employee of Bovey Mercantile, Bovey, Minnesota prior to entering service. He operated an appliance store in Grand Rapids, Minnesota and owned a grocery store in Pengilly, Minnesota before moving to California in 1954.
Carl died in Los Angeles, California and is buried in Westminster Memorial Park, Westminster, California (plot - Garden of Olives). He is survived by his wife, Rosella; two sons, Jerry and Dennis; his parents; a sister, Mrs. T. A. Muotka; and a brother, Wendell.
- Tribal Affiliation(s):
