THE WALL OF FACES

Never forgotten.

Semper Fi, Marine

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrances from Daniel Gardner are especially poignant. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us....

Thank you for serving and sacrificing for our country. I don't see many faces of New Jerseyans here. I've been to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial a few times. I think just over 1,000 New Jerseyans' made the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you, Dennis Bagley, for what you did over there.

You will forever remain in our hearts and prayers

Dear Dan Gardner, having just read through your remembrance posted several months ago, I further made aware, palpably, of just how frightening that experience had to have been for primarily young men patrolling jungles where each and every step could be your last. As before, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service and sacrifice!

We'd previously discussed the prospect of finding photos of Bags in action at Belmont Abbey, and having been contacted last week by an Abbey '00 alum (Matt Memrick) who is also a local news writer, I'm thrilled to provide this link below and the multiple photos you'll find on pages 153-160 of the Abbey basketball team and Dennis wearing jersey #12 (though he's wearing a jersey with #3? in one of the photos). Though listed at 6'4", his long arms and legs - as well as his leaping ability and pure HEART - he always "played bigger" and could shoot the lights out of the gym!

Note that the only other black athlete is Willis Dargon (passed away in 2012), as he and Dennis were recruited by my father to become the first black athletes AND students to attend and play at Belmont Abbey. They arrived as freshmen in August '65, stepping into a world that was still shocking hostile in far too many ways for black men and women - despite the fact that it was 100 years post-Civil War and more than 10 years post-Brown vs. Board of Education out of Topeka, KS. Coming from the projects of Newark, as Bags did, I've little doubt that he'd long before that summer learned how to cope with and confront fear, so Vietnam was obviously a major "upping the ante", but the courage that you observed in him had deep roots. Belmont NC had a population of 4100 at the time, and segregation in public schools, parks, etc. was still the "norm" - despite being so perverse a grotesque reality - there and in much of the South.

I hope you are well, sir, and I hope you will enjoy the photos. As you did while serving as his platoon leader, you'd have LOVED this man on the court! My best wishes to you and your family - Brian
https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/29184?ln=en#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=153&r=0&xywh=-240%2C0%2C5142%2C3124