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Service Details |
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Personal Details
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Home State
North Carolina | |
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Year of Birth
1923 |
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This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Felix Cervantes, III (Admiral Ese)
to remember
Bell, Wilson, Pvt.
If you knew or served with this Soldier and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
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Casualty Info
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Home Town
Not Specified |
Last Address
Smithfield, Johnston County, NC
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Casualty Date
May 21, 1944 |
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Cause
Non Hostile- Died while Missing |
Reason
Other Accident |
Location
Hawaii |
Conflict
World War II |
Location of Interment
Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial - Honolulu, Hawaii |
Wall/Plot Coordinates
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Last Known Activity
Pvt. Wilson Bell enlisted on 30 December 1942 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
He was killed on duty at West Loch, Pearl Harbor, Oahu Hawaii, while loading mortar ammunition that subsequently exploded aboard LSTs destined for the invasion of Saipan (as part of Operation Forager). There was a black out of news regarding this incident, though followed two months later by the Port Chicago Disaster in California, and the details of the tragedy remained shrouded in secrecy for many years.
LST 480 remains at the site where the explosions and fires occurred that Sunday afternoon. This incident came to be known as The West Loch Disaster.
Note:
"The West Loch Disaster was a previously secret American World War II maritime accident during which six ships docked at the West Loch peninsula in Pearl Harbor sank and 163 service members loading the vessels with munitions and supplies were killed. Operations at West Loch served as a staging area for ships in preparation for Operation Forager, the invasion of Japanese-held Mariana Islands. In addition to the Sailors and Marines that prepared the ships for the upcoming operation, Army personnel from the predominantly African-American 29th Chemical Decontamination Company also loaded the ships."
Source: http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=53604
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Comments/Citation
Not Specified
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