John Bulkeley - 55 Years of Naval Heroism
The air attacks were followed by a Japanese amphibious invasion of the island of Luzon. The US Asiatic Fleet had been largely withdrawn after suffering heavy losses to Japanese air superiority. Only submarines, small ships, and motor torpedo (PT) boats remained to contest the Japanese Naval forces. Taking the initiative, on 22 December, Japan landed more than 43,000 men and 90 tanks. The American forces numbered just over 31,000 at the end of November, with 12,000 of that being Philippine Scouts.
With little air support and no naval support, the American and Philippine troops were on the defense. By 24 December, 1941 General Douglas MacArthur (commander of US Forces Far East) was forced to enact a war plan that saw his forces island-wide retreat to Bataan and Subic Bay. The Japanese forces realized this plan too late to stop it, and the Battle of Bataan commenced just after new year, 1942 followed by the Battle of Corregidor in May, 1942 that saw the fall of the American defense of the Philippines.
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| This official photo from 1988 is remarkable in that the Admiral is wearing his Medal of Honor with his dress whites and five other medals, the lowest of which is the Legion of Merit with gold star and combat “V”. |
The PT boat became an invaluable tool in the naval arsenal at the Philippines. After the bulk of the US Navy assets were pulled away from Philippine waters, the PT boats served as a critical part of the defense of the islands. MTBRON THREE helped in the defense of the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor as the Japanese ground forces invaded.
Starting on the 10th of December, 1941, MTBRON THREE was engaged almost daily in action for the next four months and eight days. They were credited with damaging and destroying a number of Japanese aircraft, surface vessels, and merchant ships as they constantly harassed the enemy. They were also known for attacking enemy forces on land as they brought in American landing parties. PT-31 and PT-33 had been sunk during early battles, soon leaving the squadron with only four boats.
The PT boats excelled at conducting night attacks against enemy forces. On the night of January 18 into 19, 1942 saw Bulkeley’s boat, PT-34, on patrol in Binanga Bay, Luzon, Philippines. They were searching for an enemy ship reported in the area. When one of the boats became disabled, Bulkeley continued on without the cover of the second vessel. Normal procedures at the time saw PT boats operate in pairs to help each other in the event of problems. Breakdowns were somewhat common due to a lack of spare parts, no reinforcements, and no downtime to conduct repairs and maintenance, solo patrols were becoming common by necessity.
Bulkeley kept up the hunt despite heavy machine gun fire from shore and three inch artillery fire from the enemy. Bulkeley and his crew located the 5,000-ton enemy ship, engaged it, and sunk it with torpedoes. This mission was a resounding success as he accomplished this without any major damage to his ship or crew.
Bulkeley was awarded the Navy Cross (the second highest award for combat valor) for this intrepid attack.
Then on the 24th Bulkeley aboard a PT boat hunted down a Japanese merchant vessel off Luzon. After striking the enemy ship with his first torpedo, which struck the vessel amindship and exploded, Bulkeley’s boat came under heavy fire from the enemy ship. In spite of the withering fire, he pressed the attack, coming within 500 yards before firing his second torpedo and assaulting the enemy ship with his boat’s machine guns.
Bulkeley was awarded an Army Distinguished Service Cross (a medal that ranks equally with the Navy Cross) for his actions on 18 and 25 January, 1941, as his engaging and sinking these enemy vessels greatly hampered the enemy’s ground advance across the island.
Early March saw General MacArthur, in charge of all forces in the Philippines, under increasing pressure to retreat to Australia. Washington was worried that MacArthur would be captured. By then, the valiant stand against the Japanese horde had captivated the nation and MacArthur himself was seen as key. He was also one of the country’s most experienced generals, and they didn’t want to risk losing him. He was therefore ordered to evacuate, having previously told Washington that he would share the fate of his men (which was most likely death or capture).
Refusing to evacuate by submarine, MacArthur elected to leave the Philippines by PT boat, which would push through the Japanese blockades as they headed for the relative safety of Australia. MTBRON THREE was tasked with the job. Down to the four boats PT-32, PT-34, PT-35, and PT-41.
With only four boats left, Bulkeley prepared his team. The boats had been worked hard for the last few months, without basic maintenance or scheduled overhaul. This limited their speed and endurance. Each boat was loaded with 20 55-gallon fuel drums on the decks for the lengthy trip. In order to make room for the dozens of staff and family members MTBRON THREE was to evacuate, Bulkeley was forced to order 32 of his men to remain at Bataan where they would be used as infantry in defense of the peninsula.
With Bulkeley in command of PT-41, the boats headed out at 1945 local time on 11 March. They were led single file through the protective minefield by a navy minelayer. They then assumed a diamond formation. The plan, should the boats come under fire was for PT-41 to flee while the other three engaged.
The weather worsened, causing most of the passengers to become seasick as the small boats were rocked by the open ocean. During the night, the boats became separated. Bulkeley searched for them until dawn and then headed for a pre-planned hiding place alone.
At what they thought was the rally point, PT-34 came in, two hours behind schedule but was unable to locate any other boats. PT-34 had gone to the wrong island.
PT-32, which had only two good engines, lagged behind the other boats. They spotted an enemy destroyer headed towards them, so the skipper ordered the fuel barrels jettisoned so they could increase their speed. As the crew manned the machine guns, the enemy vessel closed in. It was as it neared that the crew saw that it wasn’t a Japanese ship, but rather PT-41 with an angry Lieutenant Bulkeley at the helm.
Bulkeley and his now two boats hid for the day then headed for the next rally point, where they located the wayward PT-34. PT-32 had to be left behind, as they’d “lost” all their fuel. So the passengers were divided up among PT-34 and PT-41 and PT-32 and crew were left behind. Shortly after the two remaining boats set off, the missing PT-35 arrived, finding PT-32. So the skipper of PT-35 left to try to catch up. PT-32 was eventually scuttled and the crew rescued by a navy tender.
At about 1900 hours, the crews spotted a Japanese cruiser. A ship more than capable of taking out Bulkeley’s little armada of PT-41 and PT-34 and their high value passengers. He ordered the boats to turn into the setting sun at top speed. The tactic worked, and the Japanese never spotted them.
Bad weather through the night made the trip again very rough. It also slowed their approach. So the boats had to cross the Mindanao Sea in broad daylight. Fortunately, the very conspicuous boats were not overflown by any enemy airplanes. Bulkeley’s two boats arrived in Cagayan, where MacArthur and company were to board B-17’s for the rest of the trip to Australia. PT-35 arrived shortly after the other two boats.
MTBRON THREE had succeeded in doing what was thought to be impossible. They evacuated all their passengers without an injury through hostile waters where the enemy had air superiority and naval supremacy, over a course of 600 miles. MacArthur told Bulkeley, "I'm giving every officer and man here the Silver Star for gallantry. You've taken me out of the jaws of death, and I won't forget it."
True to his word, Bulkeley and crews received Silver Stars for their actions in the evacuation of MacArthur, his staff, and their families.
Bulkeley wasn’t done in the Philippines though. He remained in the Mindanao Sea area, where aboard the PT-34 on the night of 8 April into the 9th, he encountered an enemy cruiser. He unhesitatingly ordered his two PT boats to attack, despite being massively outgunned by the much larger vessel. He shot both of his boat’s torpedoes, and then used his boat as a diversion to draw enemy fire so the other PT boat could fire their torpedo at close range, destroying the enemy cruiser.
Bulkeley received another Army Distinguished Service Cross for this engagement.
The Navy awarded Bulkeley the Medal of Honor for the cumulative bravery he displayed throughout this time, from 7 December, 1941 to 10 April, 1942. His “dynamic forcefulness and daring in offensive action” and his successful tactical skills when combined with his complete and repeated disregard for his own safety set a high bar for future PT boat and squadron skippers.
He was ordered back to the states in May 1942. He was assigned to the Motor Torpedo Boat Training Center in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Given a meritorious promotion to lieutenant commander in October, he was made commander of MTBRON SEVEN. In January 1944 he was promoted to commander and commanded MTBRON TWO. Then he was posted to Patrol Torpedo Boat Squadron One Hundred Two.
It was with this squadron that Bulkeley was on the other side of the globe at another critical point in the war effort. On 6 June, 1944 his squadron participated in the invasion of Normandy. His boats cleared the lanes to Utah Beach, kept German E-boats from attacking the landing ships, and picked up wounded sailors from the sinking USS Tide (a minesweeper, sunk 7 June), USS Rich (a destroyer escort, sunk 8 June), and USS Corry (a destroyer, sunk 6 June).
Bulkeley received a Legion of Merit with Combat “V” for leading the squadron during D-Day operations from 6 June to 14 July, 1944. After which, he was given command of the destroyer USS Endicott (his first “big ship” command).
Maneuvering USS Endicott close to shore, well within range of enemy shore batteries, on 16 and 17 August, 1944, Bulkeley effectively brought his ship’s weapons to bear against shore targets in support of a special assault mission. After this group of troops was retrieved on the 17th, Bulkeley then went to the assistance of several units on the water which were engaging enemy vessels. Despite gun failures, Bulkeley pressed the attack and with great skill and determination kept up vigorous fire on two German destroyers until both vessels were sunk from the combined efforts of Endicott and the friendly ship. 214 Germans were taken prisoner after the engagement.
Bulkeley got a gold star in lieu of a second award of the Silver Star for this engagement.
After World War II, Bulkeley served in a variety of commands. As a captain in 1952 he served in Korea. His destroyer division focused on fire support missions for troops ashore.
During the 60’s, Bulkeley commanded a tri-service facility, Clarksville Base in Tennessee. Despite being 50 years old and a veteran of two wars, he still partook of daring raids. This time, he’d dress in a dark ninja suit, blacken his face, and try to sneak past his Marine sentries to get into classified areas. The Marines carried loaded weapons, so there was some personal risk involved here. Because of this, and the fire-engine red Triumph TR3 (with obligatory large silver PT boat hood ornament) he’d drive around base, he was popular with his troops.
President Kennedy (himself a PT boat veteran) promoted Bulkeley to Rear Admiral in 1963. Again, being in the middle of historic events, Bulkeley was commander of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba during a time of extremely high tensions, shortly after the botched Bay of Pigs invasion and subsequent Missile Crisis. Castro cut off the base water supply as part of their retaliations. Bulkeley oversaw the installation of a desalination plant at the base, to ensure it could be self-sufficient. In a highly publicized move, he cut off the incoming water pipe from Cuba and sealed it.
Bulkeley retired from the Navy in 1974. He was soon recalled to serve as the commander of the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). The Navy INSURV does inspections and surveys on Navy ships before their commissioning and deployment. He didn’t retire again from the Navy until 1988, after an incredible 55 years of service to this nation, as a vice admiral. He received three Navy Distinguished Service Medals for services at the INSURV before retiring.
Bulkeley was known for stringent inspections standards of vessels. He took the safety of his sailors and Marines seriously, insisting that every ship in the fleet be outfitted with emergency escape breathing devices. In 1987, when USS Stark came under attack from Iraqi missiles, 37 sailors perished, but countless more would have without these breathing devices.
He retired to Silver Spring, Maryland where he passed at the age of 84 in 1996. He is one of the US Navy’s most decorated officers. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and the Navy commissioned the USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) in 2001 in his honor.
https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/1873
The link above documents 11 of Bulkeley’s awards. In addition, he received two Purple Hearts, a Navy Presidential Unit Citation, two Army Presidential Unit Citations, the Distinguished Conduct Star (the Philippines’ second highest award for combat bravery), and a French Croix de Guerre with Star, presented by Charles de Gaulle, among other decorations.
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