GUY DUGGER – KIA ABOARD THE BATTLESHIP USS CALIFORNIA (BB-44) ON DECEMBER 7, 1941

Guy Dugger was born in Thomas, Union County, New Mexico on March 2, 1918. From the 1920 U. S. Census we learn that Guy’s father was Steve, 31, and he was a farmer. His mother Myrtle, 34, had three children living at home at this time; Eugene, 6, Jewel, 4 and Guy, two years old. They all lived on a farm in Thomas, New Mexico.

Ten years later, the 1930 Census has the family of four living in Dalhart, Dallam County, Texas. Guy’s father was listed as a laborer on a bridge construction crew.

Dugger enlisted in the Navy on October 4, 1940 in Denver. Guy mustered aboard the battleship USS California (BB-44) on November 7, 1941. His Navy service number was 372 18 82 and attained the rating of Fireman, First Class.

On the morning of 7 December 1941, the battleship USS California (BB-44) was moored at the southernmost berth in Pearl Harbor’s battleship row. Minutes into the attack, two torpedoes burst through the hull in different locations under the armored belt on the port side. Seawater quickly rushed in and mixed with fuel oil, which caused equipment issues and power failures. After this, a bomb exploded off the port bow. She began to go down by the bow. Her crew counter flooded which minimized her list. Another bomb hit, this time on the upper deck. It got through to the second deck and started a fire. By sheer determination, her crew managed to get power restored. Burning fuel oil approached the ship, and she was ordered abandoned. When the attack was over, 98 men from the California had been killed. Out of the 15 Medals of Honor that were awarded from Pearl Harbor, 4 of them were awarded to men from the USS California.

Guy Dugger was one of the 98 KIA aboard the USS California. He was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. Guy was awarded a Purple Heart posthumously.

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This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

Resources:
history.navy.mil USS California 7 Dec 1941
Ancestry.com Guy Wesley Dugger + 11/13/1919 + Pearl Harbor
1920 Census
1930 Census
U.S., World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949, USS California (BB-44)
https://www.fold3.com/memorial/636586092/Guy-Dugger
https://www.ancestry.com Guy Dugger + 3/2/1918 + Union New Mexico
https://www.fold3.com/page/110664411/guy-dugger
https://www.newspapers.com/image/636523800/
WWW.newspapers.com/image/637825348

Joyce, Robert (SBTS Historian), AT2

Dugger, Guy, F1c