DOB/DOD: April 1, 1924 (New York, NY) – December 2, 1943; years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: 31 Main Street, New Britain
SERVICE NUMBER: Z-271290
FAMILY: Born to Juozas “Joseph” Bagdonas (1877-1927) and Viktorija “Victoria” Samulicza Bagdonas (1891-1991). Both parents were born in Lithuania. Two brothers, Joseph V. [U.S. Army veteran, 1942-1946] (1919-1994) and Michael [U.S. Army veteran, 1943-1965] (1921-2003). One sister, Victoria “Vickie” Bagdonas Winter (1922-2018).
NOTE: John Bagdonas’s father, Joseph, owned a candy store in New York City. On July 28, 1927, the store was robbed, and he was killed when he was hit over the head with a soda bottle.
CIRCUMSTANCES:
The John L. Motley was named for John Lothrop Motley (1814-1877), a historian and diplomat. Motley served as Minister to Austria from 1861 to 1867, and Minister to Great Britain from 1869 to 1870.
The SS John L. Motley was in the port at Bari, Italy, waiting to, or already unloading, its cargo of ammunition. Also in port that day was the SS John Harvey, which was loaded with a secret cargo: 2,000 M47A1 mustard gas bombs, each of which held 60-70 pounds of sulfur mustard.
The Port was attacked by 105 German Junkers Ju 88 bombers of Luftflotte 2. The bombers achieved surprise and bombed shipping and personnel operating in support of the Allied Italian Campaign.
The SS John L. Motley was destroyed, along with 27 other ships in what has become known as the “Bari Port Disaster,” in a huge explosion which caused the liquid sulfur mustard on the SS John Harvey to spill into the water, mixing with oil from the sunken ships, and a cloud of sulfur mustard vapor to blow over the city.
It is believed that nearly all crewmen of the SS John L. Motley perished in the sinking. The rescuers were prevented from knowing the danger they faced until a M47A1 bomb fragment was later retrieved from the wreckage.
The ship Master / Captain of the ” SS John L. Motley ” was Constantine Tsimenis. He resided in New York City, New York, before the war. Constantine was lost in this sinking.