LaPaglia, Carlos

Owned by Chandler Museum
Last updated: May 27, 2022
1 min read

Carlos LaPagila enlisted in the United States Navy during World War II. He was assigned to the USS Indianapolis. He was onboard the ship as she completed her top secret mission to deliver the enriched uranium for the first atomic bomb, “Little Boy”, which was later dropped on Hiroshima.

After the conclusion of the mission, the Indianapolis was refitted and refueled in Guam before being sent back out in support of an anticipated invasion of the Japanese home island. Unbeknownst to Carlos, his friend from Chandler, Corley Haggarton, was also on Guam. Corley may have been the last person to to see the Indianapolis chugging off over the horizon after he cast her off.

In the early morning hours of July 30, 1945, the Indianapolis was struck by two torpedoes fired from a Japanese submarine. The ship went down with 300 souls aboard. The survivors of the attack floated in the shark infested waters for days before finally being rescued. Carlos LaPaglia survived the ordeal and returned to Chandler to farm after the war ended.