Namesake:
Admiral John Bulkeley
Admiral Bulkeley
was a patriot, a legend, and a hero in the truest sense. A husband and
a father, he was a simple man who did his duty as God gave him the
ability to do it, a man who tried to keep a low profile but somehow
always ended up in the limelight of life. He devoted his entire life to
his country and to his Navy. Six decades of his life were spent in the
active defense of America. Even after retirement in 1988, he remained
engaged in the direction of our Navy and our country. He represented
the U.S. Navy and veterans at Normandy during D-Day celebrations,
laying wreaths and flowers at the graves of his and our fallen
comrades; he provided inspirational speeches to our youth and to our
leadership. He believed in America; he believed in a strong defense; he
believed in a Navy he loved more than his own life.
John Bulkeley's
destiny may have been cast long before he sought the salt spray of the
open ocean. His ancestors, including Richard Bulkeley, brought aboard
HMS VICTORY by Lord Nelson just prior to the Battle of Trafalgar in
1804; John Bulkeley of HMS WAGER under Captain Bligh, who sailed with
Anson's Squadron to raid Spanish silver ships of the new world; and
Charles Bulkeley, raising the Union Jack for the first time on an
American warship, the ALFRED, commanded by John Paul Jones, influenced
his intense love of the sea. He was born in New York City, grew up on a
farm in Hacketstown, NJ, and wrote his high school class poem in 1928,
if you can believe that. He loved opera. He loved animals and took
great care of feeding and caring for any that sought his help. He was
compassionate to their needs. He loved his black cat.
His love of the
sea, however, was his dream and his destiny. Unable to gain an
appointment to Annapolis from his home state of New Jersey, he was led
by his determination to Washington, and, after knocking on a lot of
doors, he gained an appointment from the state of Texas. As America
dealt with the Great Depression, his dream of going to sea, however,
received a set back. Only half of the 1933 Academy class that graduated
received a commission. John Bulkeley, noted early on for his intense
interest in engineering, went on and joined the Army Flying Corps. Like
the crazy flying machines of the day, he landed hard more than once
and, after a year, left flying for the deck of a cruiser, the
INDIANAPOLIS, as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy.
Ensign John D.
Bulkeley charted an interesting course in his early years and was
recognized early on by the Navy's leadership. As a new ensign in the
mid-thirties, he took the initiative to remove the Japanese
ambassador's brief case from a stateroom aboard a Washington-bound
steamer, delivering same to Naval Intelligence a short swim later. This
bold feat, of which there were to be many more in his life, didn't earn
him any medals, but it did get him a swift one way ticket out of the
country and a new assignment as Chief Engineer of a coal burning
gunboat, the SACRAMENTO, also known in those parts as "The Galloping
Ghost of the China Coast." Picture in your minds the movie "Sand
Pebbles". There he was to meet a young, attractive English girl at a
dinner party aboard HMS DIANA. Alice Wood and the handsome
swashbuckling John Bulkeley would, in the short period of courtship,
live an incredible story together. In China they would witness the
invasion of Swatow and Shanghai by Japanese troops and the bombing of
Panay. They were strafed by warring planes and watched from a hotel
soldiers at war in the street below. John Bulkeley, with an uncanny
propensity to stir things up, often took the opportunity to bait the
occupying Japanese soldiers, dashing with his bride to be into no-mans
land, chased by Japanese soldiers, and, every once in awhile, shooting
them with an air pistol on their backsides "just for fun". He fit the
mold of Indiana Jones, hat, coat, and all, and not necessarily a
commissioned officer in fore and aft cap of the day.
John Bulkeley
learned a lot from his experience as a Chief Engineer and also what war
was all about and what an enemy invading force was capable of doing. At
the dawn of World War II, and now a fleet lieutenant commanding motor
torpedo boats, John Bulkeley hit his stride as a daring, resourceful
and courageous leader, determined to fight to the last against enemy
forces attacking the Philippine Islands. His exploits are what make
legends as well as movies. As a young lieutenant he would say, "No one
knows what war is about until you're in it." Fearless in battle,
resourceful, and daring was John Bulkeley. Men like George Cox, skipper
of PT41, would write in 1943, "I would follow this man to Hell if
asked." A lot of others would agree. General of the Army Douglas
MacArthur, after being ordered out of the Philippines and arriving at
Mindanao following a 600 mile open ocean escape aboard a 77-foot motor
torpedo boat through enemy lines, would say, "You have taken me out of
the jaws of death. I shall never forget it."
John Bulkeley's
daring exploits will never be forgotten. Hard as leather on the
outside, he was also a man with compassion and love for his fellow man.
Reflecting upon those terrible early days of World War II, he wept over
the decision that his men and our Army at Bataan were left behind to
face an enemy of overwhelming strength, but he also acknowledged that
when the coach calls upon you to bunt and sacrifice, you do, with all
the strength and conviction you can muster, for the overall victory
cannot be achieved unless we are prepared to give it our all. From the
Pacific campaign, where he would command another squadron of PTs, he
would go to the European theater just in time for the Normandy
invasion. At Charles de Gaulle Airport, a WWII vet, recognizing the
Admiral, engaged him in a conversation. As they departed, the Admiral
said to this vet, "See you in the next war." Upon hearing this, the
veteran quickly came to attention, rendered a snappy salute, and
responded, "I’ll be there, ready to fight."
Where do we
find such men? John Bulkeley led naval forces of torpedo boats and
minesweepers in clearing the lanes to Utah Beach, keeping German
E-Boats from attacking the landing ships along the Mason Line and
picking up wounded sailors from the sinking minesweeper TIDE and
destroyer CORY. The tale of his WWII exploits would not be complete
without the mention of his love for destroyers, of which he would
command many in his years to come. As Normandy operations wound up, he
got his first large ship command, the destroyer ENDICOTT, and a month
after the D-day invasion of Europe he came to the aid of two British
gunboats under attack by two German corvettes. Charging in as
dawn’s light broke the horizon with his uncanny ability and
determined leadership, with only one gun working, but with a band of
brothers for a crew, he unhesitantly engaged both enemy vessels at
point blank range, sending both to the bottom. When I asked him about
this action, he replied, "What else could I do? You engage, you fight,
you win. That is the reputation of our Navy, then and in the future."
The Admiral was
a strong believer in standards, some would say, from the old school, as
the enemy Captain of one of the corvettes soon learned. Coming up from
the sea ladder, he would not salute the colors of the ENDICOTT, and was
promptly tossed back into the sea. The third time did the trick, and he
was taken prisoner and allowed on deck. World War II closed, and the
Admiral emerged as one of the Navy’s and America’s
most decorated hero’s, having been awarded the Medal of
Honor, the Navy Cross, the Army Distinguished Service Cross with Oak
Leaf Cluster in lieu of a second award, two Silver Stars, the Legion of
Merit with Combat V, the Purple Heart twice over, the Philippine
Distinguished Conduct Star, and from France, the French Croix de
Guerre. Asked about his many decorations, John Bulkeley would only
comment, "Medals and awards don’t mean anything.
It’s what’s inside you, how you feel about
yourself, that counts."
With an eye to
the future, John Bulkeley looked forward to the day he would become an
admiral in the navy he loved so much. As President Kennedy in the early
months of his administration dealt with an ever-increasing crisis over
Cuba, the Admiral got his wish and for a quarter of a century would
serve as a flag officer in the Navy. Challenged in his first assignment
as Commander, Guantanamo Naval Base, he met and defeated the challenge
of Fidel Castro’s threats of severing the water supplies of
the base. Today, Guantanamo stands as a symbol of American resolve
because men like John Bulkeley stood up, refused to bend, and took the
initiative to stare down belligerent threats of lesser men not friendly
with America. Perhaps a tribute of the time was the wanted poster,
offering 50,000 pesos for him, dead or alive, by the communist
leadership of Cuba along with a description, "…a guerrilla
of the worst species". At Guantanamo, as those that have visited know,
there is a hill that overlooks the northeast gate, A Gate, with a sign
that reads "Cuba, Land Free from America". As Cuban troops began moving
about, his 19-year-old-driver, a Marine lance corporal, came running up
and stood directly in front of the Admiral, ready and willing to take
the bullet that would end the life of his Commander. The Admiral loved
his Marines; the Marines loved and respected him in return. He would be
with them day and night, in fatigues, ready to conduct war if necessary
but more to defend Americans and The Land of the Free against the
communist yoke of tyranny. As COL Steven’s, the former
commanding officer of the Marine barracks at Guantanamo, wrote, adding
three more stories to the legend of John Bulkeley, "The Admiral had the
compassion for the men in the field, taking time again and again to
bring them relief, whether cookies on Christmas morning or visiting
them at odd hours of the night to ease their nerves. They loved this
man." The Admiral would construct on that hill the largest Marine Corps
insignia in the world as a quiet reminder that the United States Marine
Corps stood vigilance over the base. In tribute, a Marine would write,
"John Bulkeley, Marine in Sailor’s clothing."
John Bulkeley
never forgot his early years, the hard-iron like discipline, the poor
material condition of the fleet, and the need to always be ready, in
his own words, "…to be able to conduct prompt, sustained,
combat operations at sea." Assigned as President of the Board of
Inspection and Survey, a post held by many distinguished naval officers
since it’s inception almost at the beginning of the Navy, his
boundless energy would take him aboard every ship in the Navy, from
keel to top of the mast, from fire control system to inside a boiler,
discussing readiness and sharing sea stories and a cup of coffee with
the men who operate our ships, planes, and submarines. He was
relentless in his quest to improve the safety and material condition of
the fleet and the conditions for the health and well being of those
that manned them. He conducted his inspections by the book in strict
accordance with standards as many a man well knows, but his love for
the sailors always came through. His "Just thought you’d like
to know" letters were another invention of his that were designed to be
"unofficial reports" but of course were often greeted by a groan from
the recipient in the Navy’s leadership, knowing that John
Bulkeley had another concern that needed attention and that the list of
information addressees receiving the same "Just thought you’d
like to know" letter often was longer than the letter itself. The
Admiral would laugh about his informal invention.
After
fifty-five years of commissioned service, John Bulkeley retired to
private life. John Bulkeley did not like notoriety and wanted to keep a
low profile throughout his life, even on his last day in the Navy. His
ceremony, as requested, was brief and to the point, held in the
CNO’s office, with family present. All he sought after giving
his entire life to his country and his service was to have the
CNO’s Flag Lieutenant open the door so he could slip his
mooring line and leave quietly. John Bulkeley’s career and
service to the nation spanned six turbulent decades of the 20th
century. He saw first hand desperate times and the horror of war. Yet
he was also a father, marrying the woman he loved, and in his own
words, "It was the best thing I ever did." He raised a family he could
be proud of. His wife was his right arm, his closest friend for a long
and full life. She gave him love and support. She was truly "The Wind
Beneath His Wings". Before he passed away, his family, every member,
child, grandchild, son, and daughter-in-law came to be with him in his
last days. This by itself is testimony to the legacy he left behind and
the love his family had for him. Admiral Bulkeley’s efforts
and sacrifices for a better world, a free world, his integrity and
honor, and a combat ready fleet, ready to conduct prompt, sustained
combat operations are his legacy to our nation.
Paraphrased
from eulogy for Admiral John D. Bulkeley presented by his son:
CAPTAIN PETER W.
BULKELEY
19 APRIL 1996
FT MEYER
MEMORIAL CHAPEL
ARLINGTON
NATIONAL CEMETERY
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The Shield:
The shield, reflecting the power of
the Aegis Weapons System, is Navy blue and gold, the colors
traditionally associated with the U.S. Navy symbolizing the sea and
excellence. The inverted star at the base of the shield recalls the
Medal of Honor presented to Admiral Bulkeley by President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt for his dynamic forcefulness and daring during the
defense of the Philippines. The gold laurel wreath represents honor and
high achievement, the hallmarks of USS BULKELEY. The red chevron, from
the family coat of arms, is emblematic of the valor and sacrifice
displayed by Admiral Bulkeley while leading a flotilla of PT boats and
minesweepers along Utah Beach before the assault troops stormed ashore
at Normandy. The lion alludes to the heritage of Normandy and embodies
courage and strength. Silver anchors flanking the lion reflect the
devotion and committment of U.S. Navy sailors ensuring the torch of
freedom remains forever lit for future generations of Americans.
