Chaplain from Hughson American Legion Honored as County Veterans of the Year
In which I revisit favorite news pieces from 2024
Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on November 19, 2024. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications - committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.
On November 5, at 1010 Tenth Street in Modesto, the Stanislaus County Board awarded the 2024 Veterans of the Year honorees to Timothy E. Gilbert, Kelley M. Coelho, John A. Jeffries, Freddy Morales, Christopher J. Watts, David M. Thompson and Robert Craig Bagley, the Chaplain from Hughson American Legion Post 872.
Rev. Craig Bagley, whose grandfather and father both served in the US Army, grew up with the sense of duty that inspires many to join the service. “In my mind it was understood that sense of duty to the country,” he said.
He chose the Air Force for the electronics training it would provide.
But Bagley did not go alone. In November 1968, he joined the Air Force, and the woman he would later marry joined at the same time. They attended basic training in Texas and Susan and Craig married during tech school in Biloxi, Mississippi.
They began their family while stationed in Alaska, and stayed on there after completing their years of service. Bagley worked in electronics and communication for an airline company.
Susan grew up Catholic, Craig grew up Baptist. “When our son was born after four years, we knew we had to solve it. We started to seek God, praying every night, holding hands, reading the scriptures, taking turns, and we started tithing.” Within a matter of months, during a time of prayer, the two “were filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Their lives became dedicated to faith. “We were on the same path from then on. Wherever you want us to go, we’re willing.”
Susan was offered a job with Beeline Fashions in San Jose. After a few months at home with the children, Bagley went to work in the electronics industry.
“We started a prayer ministry, teaching prayer and spiritual warfare. We got to rub shoulders with people in the prophetic ministries, part of the international Pentecostal holiness denomination.” There, they were both ordained and asked to move to Modesto to see what help could be given to a struggling church. “We didn’t plan to be a part of it, but God had other plans,” Bagley said. “The people there accepted us.”
The church, Lighthouse Temple, was established in the 1940s. Through the Bagleys' service and leadership, the church was rejuvenated, grew, and expanded to other locations. It is now known as the Celebration Center.
The couple retired on June 1, 2018. Through their military service and church service, the two did everything together. “The relationship with God is the main thing in our home, and the reality of our relationship is so clear. You make your own. You work through the issues you have. Like in the service, there is a sense of honor and duty and something sacred about the way you live your life that was a big part of our marriage and still is today.”
Bagley has served many in many places and been awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Outstanding Service Award, Good Conduct Award, and sharpshooter award, but said about that time, “The service portion was just – you just did your duty. I always took the initiative and tried to learn other things that weren’t directly my responsibility because I was interested in different things, such as aircraft electronics.” That curiosity led to two patents in the electronics industry.
Bagley became the local chaplain for the American Legion Scranton & Qualle Post 872 in 2019. He was a longtime member of the American Legion but only began attending meetings. Through Roy Santiago, Bagley began attending and was sworn in as chaplain. One could say that Santiago tricked him into it, but Bagley said, “It’s a natural outcropping of military service; respecting God and becoming a chaplain was the natural order. Roy saw it before I did.”
Serving as chaplain has become another stage of Bagley’s calling. “It’s an honor; I took it to another level. I became a part of the Ceres honor guard, so I did prayers and readings, fired the rifle, folded the flag, and did all the things that go with funerals. The sacredness of things is not just military service because of people. Every person is made in the image of God and should be honored and respected. How we treat our fallen heroes or family members says a lot about our respect for humanity and the sacredness of a human being. I can see it in the faces of the family members.”
Bagley and his wife continue to serve together.
And that paying that honor is more than a duty, Bagley believes, “it elevates all of us,” he said.
Without missing a beat, the two-time Chaplain of the Year and now Veteran of the Year, Bagley, went on to lead prayers and tributes for the November 11 Veteran Day Services in Hughson and beyond.
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