Marine Corps veteran and VA Maryland Health Care employee Terry Bagley, Sr., was walking to the grocery store in November 2022 to pick up pasta for the Thanksgiving meal he was planning when he heard a cry for help.
A house in his neighborhood exploded.
“There were people standing around not doing anything to help. The others held me back and told me not to run into the house, but I yelled ‘Oorah’ and went in,” Bagley, 70, said in a VA release.
Bagley said his split-second decision was the result of his Marine Corps training and South Carolina roots. He carried a mother and daughter to safety. When he rushed into the house a third time to rescue the father of the family, the house collapsed around him, causing Bagley serious injuries, including a broken pelvis, femur and hand. The third person he was attempting to rescue died in the fire.
At the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center where paramedics transported Bagley, it wasn’t clear if he’d survive his injuries. Clinicians placed him into a medically induced coma and delayed a surgery until his heartbeat became stronger.
“When I carried out the ladies, they were badly burned, their hands and arms burned down to white. The whole side of the mother’s face was burned,” said Bagley, who wondered if he would have been able to save the third individual trapped in the burning house had he’d been younger and stronger.
Now recovered, the unstoppable Bagley returned to work at Baltimore VA where staff members welcomed him back to work and recognized his heroic actions with an award presentation July 7.
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“We are proud of you and happy to see you back. There was a time we didn’t think you were coming back,” said Lori Rosenzweig, associate director for operations.
Bagley survived polio as a child, toxic water at Camp Lejeune and service in Vietnam. His twin brother Jerry and his family rallied around him during his recovery and took turns sitting with him during the Thanksgiving holiday.
“I don’t regret saving the ladies, but sometimes I do regret running into the burning house because of all the pain I’m in,” said Bagley who now uses a cane.
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Still, Bagley wants his coworkers and others to know, “helping others, helping each other,” is the most important value and its own reward.
Bagley is part of the Environment Management Service at the Maryland VA.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.