USS Bagley ( DD - 386 ) USS " Bagley " ( DD - 386 ) , a , was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Ensign Worth Bagley , officer during the Spanish - American War , distinguished as the only U . S . naval officer killed in action during that war . " Bagley " ( DD - 386 ) was laid down on 31 July 1935 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard , Portsmouth , Virginia ; launched on 3 September 1936 ; sponsored by Miss Bella Worth Bagley , sister of Ensign Bagley ; and commissioned on 12 June 1937 , Lieutenant Commander Earl W . Morris in command . Service history . Inter - War Period . " Bagley " worked extensively in the Atlantic before being sent to Pearl Harbor in 1940 . She rotated occasionally between there and the Californian coast . By December 1941 , " Bagley " was operating locally out of Pearl Harbor . Frequent exercises with DesDiv 7 were interspersed with carrier task force evolutions centered around and . The pace of these operations intensified as American economic sanctions , instituted in response to Japanese actions in China and French Indochina , provoked Japanese protests . On 3 December during an antiaircraft practice at sea with DesDiv 8 , " Bagley " s starboard side bilge keel tore loose . The destroyer slowed to and changed course for Oahu , mooring at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard the following morning . On 6 December , the warship shifted berths starboard side to berth B - 22 in Southeast Loch . By this time , " Bagley " had gone cold iron , receiving electricity , steam , and fresh water from the dock . Pearl Harbor . At 0755 on 7 December , shortly before morning colors , Japanese aircraft from six fleet carriers struck the Pacific Fleet as it lay in port at Pearl Harbor . Onboard " Bagley " , Radio Seaman Recruit Robert P . Coles exited the port side mess decks and saw the Japanese planes attacking Hickman Field . Realizing it was not fleet maneuvers he broke open the 50 caliber forward port ready service locker and opened fire and hit the first two Torpedo Bombers attacking Battleship Row . He was relieved by Chief Gunners Mate Skinner who , as noted in official records , fired at the third plane to attack . the crew first saw dive bombers in action over nearby Hickam Field and then witnessed a Nakajima B5N " Kate " torpedo planes pass down Southeast Loch and torpedo moored off Ford Island . The destroyer immediately went to general quarters , firing her . 50 - caliber machine guns at the torpedo - carrying Nakajimas passing down the port side to attack the American battleships . Shortly after 0800 , a second " Kate " ' s torpedo exploded in the bank about thirty feet ahead of " Bagley " . During the second phase of the attack , which began about 0840 , " Bagley " s crew fired on Aichi D3A " Val " dive bombers attacking Ford Island and the navy yard dry docks . Her gunners claimed to have splashed at least six aircraft that morning ; but , given the intensity of antiaircraft fire from all ships , her " kills " cannot be conclusively proven . At 0940 , the warship headed for the channel and the open sea , leaving her commanding officer , executive officer , and gunnery officer ashore . " Bagley " , under the temporary command of Lieutenant Philip W . Cann , paused only long enough to pick up the skipper of destroyer , who was subsequently transferred to his own ship at sea . World War II . 1942 . " Bagley " covered the arrival of TF 14 at Pearl Harbor four days after Christmas . The next day , the destroyer sailed with to patrol west of Oahu , covering the islands while two carrier groups escorted reinforcements to Samoa . On 11 January 1942 , however , a single torpedo from hit and damaged the aircraft carrier . " Bagley " returned to Pearl Harbor with the injured " Saratoga " and , taking advantage of the opportunity , underwent a restricted availability at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard between 23 January and 3 February , adding four 20 - millimeter machine guns to her antiaircraft battery . Departing Oahu on the last day of January , " Bagley " joined TF 11 , comprising " Lexington " , four cruisers and nine destroyers , to cover transports delivering reinforcements to Christmas Island , Canton Island in the Phoenix Islands , and New Caledonia . Worried about Japanese intentions in the Fiji - New Caledonia area , TF 11 joined the ANZAC cruiser force , , HMNZS " Achilles " , HMNZS " Leander " with and two destroyers , on 16 February . Shortly thereafter , the task force turned to the northwest and headed for Bougainville in the Solomon Islands . On 20 February , at 1707 , the destroyer opened fire on a second wave of nine bombers with her 20 - millimeter battery , joining the barrage of antiaircraft fire around " Lexington " . Minutes after that , one bomber attempted to crash Bagley ' s stern , but fire from helped splash the " Betty " some distant on the starboard quarter . Upkeep and repair , punctuated by a dry dock period , kept the destroyer ' s crew busy for the next month . " Bagley " took departure from Pearl Harbor on 30 April , carrying mail and passengers to Palmyra Island , Christmas Island , and the Society Islands . Off Bora Bora on 9 May , she rendezvoused with and escorted her to the Fiji Islands , arriving at Nukualofa Bay , Tongatapu , on 15 May . The destroyer then spent a week patrolling outside the harbor , protecting departing convoys from enemy submarines , before continuing on alone to Brisbane , Australia , arriving there on 30 May . Assigned to the Southwest Pacific Force ( TF 44 ) , " Bagley " protected convoys in the approaches to Australia , searched for submarine contacts during two patrol sweeps with , and conducted night battle practice and other exercises with the cruisers of TF 44 through mid - July . On the 17th , she departed Brisbane for New Zealand , arriving in Auckland on 20 July . There , she joined TF 62 and began preparations for Operation Watchtower , the invasion of Guadalcanal . " Bagley " steamed to the Fiji Islands , in company with cruisers " Chicago " , , " Australia " , , , eight other destroyer s , and 12 transports . Joined by other convoy elements on the 26th , including three more cargo ships , " Bagley " guarded the transports as they conducted rehearsal landings at Koro Island . The task force then proceeded to the Solomon Islands , arriving in the transport area off Lunga Point , Guadalcanal , on 7 August . Assigned to " Southern Force " , one of three picket patrols , " Bagley " and " Patterson " accompanied " Australia " , " Canberra " , and " Chicago " in protecting the transports south of Tulagi . " Australia " , with Rear Admiral Victor Alexander Charles Crutchley , RN , on board , left formation for a command conference at Lunga Roads at 2130 . Just over two hours later , with visibility low owing to overcast sky and rain showers , unidentified ships loomed into view about distant on the port bow . These were seven Japanese cruisers and a destroyer under Rear Admiral Gunichi Mikawa sent from Rabaul to attack the American transports . At that moment , 0144 according to " Bagley " s log , float planes from the Japanese cruisers dropped flares that lit up the American warships . " Bagley " turned sharply to the left to bring the starboard torpedo tubes to bear on the Japanese warships looming out of the darkness but , either due to the torpedoes not being armed in time or because the ship turned too quickly for the torpedo tubes to be aimed properly , she continued her turn and fired four torpedoes to the northwest from number two port mount . Although the torpedomen claimed hits a few minutes later , no Japanese ships were damaged by torpedoes in that area . It is possible , but unconfirmed , that one or two of " Bagley ' s " torpedoes may have hit " Canberra " on her starboard side . " Bagley " then turned left again and her gunners scanned the passage between Guadalcanal and Savo Island ; but , as the Japanese cruiser force had already passed by to the north , they saw no enemy ships . She then steamed to the northwest , toward the designated destroyer rendezvous point , and at about 0300 came across the heavily damaged and burning . That warship , along with and , had been mortally wounded in the short , but violent , Battle of Savo Island before the Japanese force retired to Rabaul . " Bagley " came alongside " Astoria " and rescued about 400 survivors — including 185 wounded — from the stricken warship , out of the water or from nearby rafts . With daylight , " Bagley " delivered a salvage party of 325 men to " Astoria " to fight fires , plug holes and raise steam . The effort ultimately failed , and the cruiser sank that afternoon . Meanwhile , " Bagley ' s " medical officer and pharmacist ' s mates treated shell - fragment lacerations and second - degree burns before the wounded were transferred to that afternoon . " Bagley " then withdrew to Nouméa with TF 62 , mooring there on 13 August . 1943 . On 15 March 1943 , " Bagley " executed orders reassigning her to TF 74 as the newly created 7th Fleet readied itself for offensive operations in New Guinea . Underway from Townsville on 27 June , " Bagley " , in company with " Henley " and SC - 749 , escorted six LSTs carrying 2 , 600 Army troops and airfield equipment to Woodlark Island . While the destroyers patrolled south of the island , the landing proceeded without Japanese interference on the night of 30 June and 1 July . " Bagley " escorted three more echelons of LSTs from Townsville to Woodlark between 9 July and 7 August ; all arrived safely , and the fighter airstrip became operational on 23 July . The destroyer then escorted between Milne Bay , Cairns , and Brisbane , arriving at the last port on 15 August . " Bagley " steamed back to New Guinea late in the month , delivering a convoy to Milne Bay on 1 October . She quickly returned to Townsville to pick up another convoy , escorting it safely into Milne Bay on the 8th . Sailing again to Australia , this time to Brisbane , the destroyer shepherded a third convoy from Townsville to Milne Bay between 25 and 29 October . After moving to Buna on 8 November , " Bagley " helped escort a convoy of three LSTs to Finschhafen , delivering supplies to the Australian 20th Brigade on the 11th . Over the next four weeks , the destroyer escorted six more reinforcement convoys out of Buna ; three to Finschhafen , one to Lae , one to Woodlark Island , and the last to Cape Cretin on 12 December . After steaming to Buna on 23 December , " Bagley " joined the seven LSTs of TU 76 . 1 . 41 , carrying the 7th echelon of 1st Marine Division ' s engineers , artillery , and stores for the Cape Gloucester operation . The crew watched the heavy cruisers bombard the beach at 0600 on 26 December , and then " Bagley " screened the LST s as they landed troops and equipment . That afternoon , around 1430 , a large Japanese air raid attacked the task force , sinking and damaging . Later that evening , " Bagley ' s " crew saw friendly fighters splash three " Betty " bombers over the beachhead . Returning to Buna on 28 December , " Bagley " then helped leapfrog elements of the 32nd Infantry Division to Saidor , New Guinea , bypassing a strong Japanese garrison at Sio . The third echelon convoy landed troops and equipment without incident on 2 January 1944 . 1944 . Ordered " to act as stand - by escort for supply echelons " , the destroyer delivered a convoy of LSTs to Saidor on 5 February and the next day , in company with and two LSTs , steamed for Cape Gloucester . She departed the region on 10 February , steaming east for the west coast of the United States . Arriving in San Francisco on 27 February , after stops at Florida Island , Guadalcanal , Palmyra , and Pearl Harbor , Bagley entered the Mare Island Navy Yard for a major overhaul on the 28th . Over the next eight weeks , she added two more 20 mm guns ( for a total of six ) and an improved fire control radar while a twin 40 mm gun tub was placed forward of the two after guns . Underway for Hawaii on 5 May , Bagley began training at sea for Operation " Forager " , the planned invasion of the Marianas . Arriving at Pearl Harbor on the 10th , the destroyer conducted screen , antiaircraft , and shore bombardment drills before sailing for the Marshall Islands on 29 May . Anchoring in Majuro Atoll on 3 June , Bagley joined one of the four fast carrier task groups , putting out to sea with and TG 58 . 2 on the 8th . Saipan . The destroyer then moved to the transport area on 15 June , screening the initial landings on Saipan before returning to the bombardment group on the 17th . From that screening position " Bagley " participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea . Although primarily an air battle — later dubbed " The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot " — in which most of the several hundred Japanese plane casualties were lost to American fighters , several small groups of Japanese aircraft broke through the CAP . These were mostly driven off by intense antiaircraft fire from the battleships and destroyers . " Bagley " fired on three planes that day , lobbing 24 5 inch shells at a " Val " and a " Kate " at a range of astern and another 147 20 mm and 40 mm shells at a Zero that passed distant to starboard . In the following days , the destroyer continued to screen the battleships as they vainly chased the retreating Japanese . On 25 June , the destroyer returned to the Marianas for two weeks of call - fire assignments in support of Marine Corps operations . Under the direction of fire control units ashore , " Bagley " fired over 700 5 inch rounds of high - explosive , white phosphorus , and starshell into the final pocket of Japanese resistance at the north end of Saipan . On 6 July , after receiving more ammunition from , she closed shore and fired on " caves and crevasses near waters edge on Saipan " , expending 537 5 - inch and over 1 , 000 rounds of 20 - millimeter and 40 mm shells . " Bagley " screened " Enterprise " during the strikes on Okinawa and the smaller Ryukyus on 10 September . This was followed by a raid on Aparri in the Philippines on the 11th before the large - scale effort to destroy Japanese air power on Formosa began on 12th . Leyte Gulf . " Bagley " s only part in the Battle for Leyte Gulf was to join the ad hoc cruiser - destroyer group dispatched in futile pursuit of the retreating flattops , mere decoys with only half their air component on board . With the Battle for Leyte Gulf over on 25 October , and the surviving Japanese naval forces in retreat , " Bagley " rejoined the carriers as they stood by to support ground operations on Leyte . In order to destroy Japanese aircraft staging into the central Philippines , TG 38 . 4 launched attacks on Luzon from its patrol area east of Leyte Gulf on 30 October . Arriving at Ulthui 2 November , " Bagley " received four days of overhaul from tender " Markab " ( AD - 21 ) . The destroyer then sailed on the 10th with TU 77 . 4 . 1 , built around and , to provide air support for Leyte ground operations . Retiring to Seeadler Harbor on the 27th , the destroyer spent the next month training , or receiving repairs from , all in preparation for Operation Musketeer , the landings on Luzon , Philippine Islands . On 27 December , the destroyer got underway for the Palaus , arriving there on the 30th . 1945 . The 12 escort carriers of TG 77 . 2 and 77 . 4 , and their screen of 19 destroyers , including " Bagley " , sortied from Kossol Roads on 1 January 1945 . The group entered Leyte Gulf on the 3rd and steamed on to the Mindanao Sea , heading for Lingayen Gulf to provide air support for amphibious operations . Late in the afternoon of the 4th , after a day of false alarms and " snooper " alerts , a single twin - engine Japanese " kamikaze " crashed into , setting off explosions and fires which destroyed that escort carrier . The next day , after the force entered the South China Sea , four Japanese kamikaze raids attacked the American warships . Although the first two waves were driven off by CAP , " Bagley " s crew saw suicide planes from the third attack crash , , " Australia " , and , damaging the latter badly enough to force her retirement to Leyte . " Bagley " screened the escort carriers between 6 January , when they began flying ground - attack missions over the Lingayen beaches , and 13 January when the next " kamikaze " plane attacked the group . Just after 0900 , an undetected plane surprised and crashed into , causing extensive damage . Several more closed the formation at 0908 , and one Nakajima Ki - 43 " Oscar " made a run toward " Bagley " . All guns that could bear opened fire at , and the plane splashed about out on the port beam . The next four days passed without any Japanese attacks , and the task group retired to Ulithi , arriving there on the 23rd . With Philippine operations well underway , " Bagley " was assigned to the next major amphibious operation , the landings planned for Iwo Jima in February . On 21 February , after a mere six days to conduct repairs and replenish , the warship embarked upon the last major amphibious operation of the war , the invasion of Okinawa . In company with the escort carriers of TG 52 . 1 , " Bagley " arrived off Okinawa Jima on 25 March . The destroyer screened during ground attack and support operations into April without incident . Over the next several weeks , numerous small Japanese air raids appeared on her radar screen , but only one closed the formation , an ineffective attack by a lone plane on the 12th . On 28 April , while the escort carriers launched raids on Sakishima Gunto , the crew spotted an Ohka " kamikaze " pass harmlessly overhead at . On 24 May , after " Bagley " " blew out " her number one main generator , she turned toward the Philippines . Arriving in Leyte Gulf on the 27th after 102 days underway at sea , the destroyer went alongside for repairs . The warship ' s last combat operation began on 15 June when the destroyer departed Leyte for Kerama Retto . She rendezvoused with the six escort carriers of TG 32 . 1 on the 18th and supported them during a series of air strikes on Okinawa . A week later , however , " Bagley " s main battery director failed , and she once again retired to Leyte for repairs . After mooring there on 27 June , she went alongside " Yosemite " for three days of availability . As the tender was unable to repair the director , the warship steamed to Saipan on 5 July and thence on to Guam , arriving in Apra harbor on the 6th . With a new director installed by 14 July , " Bagley " sailed to Saipan on the 15th . Departing the Marianas on 6 August , the warship escorted a convoy of merchant ships to Okinawa on 12 August . Three days later , her crew heard of the Japanese capitulation while shepherding a return convoy back to Saipan . Following 10 days of rest and recreation , " Bagley " embarked Rear Admiral Francis E . M . Whiting and staff for transport to Marcus Island . She arrived there on 31 August , and Japanese Rear Admiral M . Matsubara surrendered the island and its garrison to Rear Admiral Whiting on board " Bagley " . Returning to Saipan on 2 September , the destroyer then reported to the Commander , 5th Fleet , for extended duty . After a brief stop at Buckner Bay , Okinawa , the destroyer sailed for Japan , arriving in Sasebo on 20 September . " Bagley " spent the next five weeks operating as a minefield marker ship , assisting minesweeping efforts , and providing courier services between Sasebo , Nagasaki , and Wakayama . Several officers also inspected various Japanese naval vessels in port to determine compliance with Allied surrender terms . Fate . The destroyer departed Sasebo on 29 October for the United States and , steaming via Pearl Harbor , arrived in San Diego on 19 November . Originally marked for use in experimental testing , probably the two - detonation series of atomic tests held in the summer of 1946 at Bikini Atoll ( see Operation Crossroads ) in the central Pacific , " Bagley " steamed to Pearl Harbor in late April 1946 . The destroyer did not participate in the atomic tests , however , but instead reported for inactivation at Pearl Harbor on 2 May . Decommissioned there on 13 June 1946 , she was towed to San Diego for scrap sale . Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 25 February 1947 , and she was sold to the Moore Dry Dock Company , Oakland , California , on 8 September 1947 . Awards . " Bagley " earned 12 battle star s for World War II service .