If serving in the Marine Corps had taught Technical Sgt. Wendell R. Boggs anything, it was that he had to be ready for anything and respond appropriately. It made him an excellent Marine. However, no matter how prepared you are for something, life will find a way to put you to the test.
Wendell was born in Moorefield, West Virginia, to Guy and Mildred (Bean) Boggs in 1924. Work brought the couple to Cumberland while Wendell was still a toddler. The family lived on Williams Road, and Wendell graduated from Fort Hill High School in 1943.
He joined the U.S. Marines and was soon serving in the Pacific Theater, fighting against the Japanese soldiers.
After the war, he chose to remain in the Marines, but he also found time to return to Cumberland to marry. The Rev. Robert Hopkins married Wendell and 21-year-old Margaret Dunn in St. Mary’s Catholic Church in September 1949. Rather than an elaborate wedding gown, the Cumberland News reported that the bride wore a white suit, white picture hat, white accessories and carried an old-fashioned bouquet.
They lived in a home on Maryland Avenue and started their family. However, Wendell soon saw service in the Korean War, which caused a separation from his family. Following the war, he returned to Cumberland for a while, and was then sent to Hawaii to serve at Pearl Harbor in 1955.
His family joined him in September 1955. By this time, Wendell and Margaret had two young daughters, Christine and Kathleen. Island life agreed with the Boggses, and Margaret was soon pregnant with their third child.
As Margaret’s due date approached in November 1956, the Boggs were taking everything in stride. When Margaret started having contractions, the couple thought they had plenty of time, based on their experience with their previous daughters. They took their children to a neighboring family, who agreed to watch them while the Boggs were at the hospital. Then they set out for Tripler Army Hospital in Honolulu.
The 49-year-old medical complex was designed by New York City architectural firm York & Sawyer. Along with local landscape architect Robert O. Thompson, they set out to create “one of the great beauty spots of Hawaii.” While it never quite achieved this, it had, more importantly, become a well-respected hospital complex that had 1,000 beds.
On the way to the hospital, Margaret’s contractions grew closer together, and Wendell realized they wouldn’t make it to the hospital. He pulled over on Kamehameha Highway, assessed the situation, and wound up delivering his daughter.
“Leave it to a Marine and the situation is well in hand — although the delivery of a baby daughter in the family car en route to a hospital isn’t usually expected in the line of duty,” the Cumberland News reported.
Karen Eileen Boggs was born healthy, weighing 6 pounds and 7 ounces.
The experience, though unique, left him a little shaken. “I knew I had to do something. I did the best I could,” he later told a reporter.
Once he knew his wife and daughter were stable, and his nerves had calmed. He jumped into the driver’s seat and raced to the hospital. In his haste, not only did he speed, he ran two stop signs.
He caught the attention of a patrol officer, who hit the siren and lights.
Wendell pulled over. When the cop approached the car, Wendell said right away, “I’m guilty.” Then he pointed to his new daughter and explained what had happened.
The cop sympathized and escorted the family to the hospital to ensure they would arrive there safely and not harm anyone in their haste.
When Wendell died in 1985, he was survived by four daughters and two sons. None of the other children had entered the world in quite the dramatic a way as Karen.