BAGWELL LARRY L

MAJ Larry L. Bagwell was a potential VHPA member who died after his tour in Vietnam on 07/01/1968 at the age of 34.2 from A/C accident
Santa Ana, CA
Date of Birth 04/14/1934
Served in the U.S. Marine Corps
This information was provided by Rick Lindsey, Barry Geller, SSN deceased search

More detail on this person: Major Larry L. Bagwell and another Marine were killed when their CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter crashed after departing Marine Corps Air Facility Santa Ana, CA. He was assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Training Squadron 301 (HMMT-301) when his plane crashed during routine night mission training near Hidden Ranch in Black Star Canyon. The other Marine to perish in the accident was Corporal Gale D. Abrams.

Burial: Arlington Memory Gardens, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, USA

MAJ Bagwell was killed while flying as an instructor pilot for HMMT-302 in Tustin California in 1968. He was flying night instruction for a student pilot, 1stLt Bob Trigalet and Sgt Gale Abrams was the duty Crew Chief. While he was flying over Black Star mountain, the helicopter lost the rear fuselage section/rotor on a practice landing approach and Maj Bagwell attempted to regain control of the aircraft but was killed when the front section impacted the mountain. Sgt Abrams was killed but Lt. Trigalet survived with severe injuries. Lt Trigalet was killed in Vietnam one year later in Vietnam in a mi-air collision.

I knew Maj Bagwell at the time - I was a sergeant and the squadron "grunt": I wasn't an airwinger but since I was recovering from wounds I had received in Vietnam, the Corps put me there as the "Duty runner/mail room NCO/machinegun instructor/platoon sergeant for the squadron. Maj Bagwell used to come to my mailroom every day and ask if he had any mail. He never did, so I wrote him a letter for him one time and he thought that it was great joke. He was fine leader.

Semper Fi, Forrest R. Lindsey, LtCol USMC (ret) ,

Burial information: Arlington Memory Gardens, Oklahoma City, OK

This information was last updated 06/02/2017

Please send additions or corrections to: HQ@vhpa.org VHPA Headquarters

Return to the Helicopter Pilot DAT name list

Return to VHPA web site

Date posted on this site: 10/23/2024


Copyright © 1998 - 2024 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association