Honor Our Service Personnel - February - Noell Clayton Wagstaff

Noell Clayton Wagstaff

Noell Clayton Wagstaff, MM3C, son of Hunter and Hattie Wagstaff, was inducted into the United States Navy May 10, 1944 at Boydton, Virginia. He served with the 38th. and 134th. Naval Construction Battalions (Seabees). He was honorably discharged in April, 1946.

The 38th.'s second tour of duty took them from San Francisco to Hawaii, then Eniewetok, then Tinian of the Mariana Islands. From there they went on to Yokosuka, Japan.

The task at Tinian was to rebuild the damaged, Japanese built, Ushi Point airfield. 1500 Seabees landed in July, 1944. Twenty-four hours after they landed with eight trucks, nine dozers, two rollers and salvaged Japanese equipment. The first plane landed on the completed airstrip less than eight months after the initial landings on Tinian, where up to 13,000 Seabee's had the world's largest airdrome ready for full-scale operation with the exception of the final concrete surfacing. Total earth and coral work figured at 11,874,400 cubic yards - volume equal to four Boulder Dams - and 2,458,015 square yards of asphaltic concrete two inches thick were used to surface the fields.

Tinian is historically known as the take off point for the world's most famous B-29's, the Enola Gay and Bock's Car. They departed Tinian on August 6th. and August 9th., 1945. On those fateful mornings, the world's first nuclear weapons were released on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hastening to an end WWII.