Sea Stories: #55 Meeting A Legend

[Gunboat1]

Sea Stories: # 55 - Meeting A Legend

 

In 1986, I was privileged to meet and have a conversation with a bona fide US Navy legend and hero of World War II. VADM John D. Bulkeley was a member of the U.S. Naval Academy graduating class of 1933. When World War II began for America on the 07^th of December 1941, then-Lieutenant Junior Grade Bulkeley was in command of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a group of six plywood PT boats, in Cavite, Philippines. These small, gallant little craft carried four torpedoes and several machine guns each, and were powered by gasoline engines. They were basically floating bombs, but could and did punch above their weight. The movie They Were Expendable, starring John Wayne and Robert Montgomery is a dramatization of these boats' service, and is a WWII classic film.

 

The US Navy in the Pacific had been decimated by the Pearl Harbor attacks, so even though the Navy brass had prior to this time not been particularly impressed by the PT boat concept, the little boats were pressed into service to attack Japanese shipping. They usually did so at night, and the tiny vessels and crews sank numerous Japanese warships and supply ships in the early years of the war. They took heavy casualties. But the PTs played a major role in disrupting Japanese supply efforts in battles in the Solomon Islands campaign, raiding Japanese convoys dubbed “The Tokyo Express” coming down “The Slot” as New Georgia Sound was known. Imagine being told to get aboard your little plywood boat and sally forth to attack a task force of Japanese destroyers and cruisers, by necessity “up close and personal.” This was a contact sport, not for the faint of heart. And LT Bulkeley was right in the middle of it, leading these missions into curtains of heavy fire and taking the fight to the Japanese to good effect.

 

In March of 1942, LT Bulkeley got a most unusual mission order. And on the 12^th of March, he took PT-41 and three other boats of his squadron to Corregidor Island, at the mouth of Manila Bay, and embarked General of the Armies Douglas MacArthur, his wife and child, and members of his household and staff. The Philippines were about to fall to the Japanese Army, and President Roosevelt had ordered MacArthur to evacuate from the Philippines to prevent his capture or death. Lt Bulkeley and his PTs transported these key personnel to Mindanao, from where they were flown to safety in Australia. And in recognition of his gallant combat service before and during that operation, LT Bulkeley was awarded the Medal Of Honor by President Roosevelt, becoming one of the highest decorated officers in US Navy history. His career decorations include that Medal of Honor, the Navy Cross, two Distinguished Service Crosses, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit and the Purple Heart.

 

Bulkeley is the man who, after meeting US Ambassador Joseph Kennedy in September 1942, recruited future President John F. Kennedy into the USN PT Boat service. And he survived the war and went on to lead a stellar naval career, rising to the rank of Vice Admiral, and initially retiring in 1975. But in the early 1980s, he was recalled to active duty to lead the USN's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV.) This organization thoroughly inspects every Navy ship about every five years, to document its material readiness in minute detail, and to advise hard decisions about the ship's fitness for further duty. It is a job for a man who has tremendous focus, a pugnacious tenacity and a No-BS approach to the facts. VADM Bulkeley was just such a man. He was known as a fighter, and a no-nonsense commander.

 

It was in this capacity that our conversation took place. I was Flag Lieutenant and Aide to a Rear Admiral in command of a large Group of logistics supply ships. One of them was undergoing her INSURV inspection, and some significant problems had come to light. VADM Bulkeley was not pleased, and hard decisions were going to have to be made about costs, accountability and the further service of the vessel. The Admiral and I reported aboard the Destroyer Tender that VADM Bulkeley was using as his temporary office during that inspection, and we were shown into his cabin. There he was, the Legend himself, in an old, faded khaki uniform made soft by countless washings. His hair was gray, his face weathered by nearly 55 years of naval service, including several years of pitched combat. He greeted the Admiral with the respect due to his rank and command position. He then fixed me with a steely gaze, his eyes penetrating and belying a less-than-gentle spirit. I was in awe. And then he spoke: “You can go now.” And I replied: “Aye, aye, sir.” I did a smart about face and departed the cabin, leaving the two Admirals to their discussions.

 

I didn't say it was a LONG conversation.

 

VADM John D. Bulkeley, USN

Edited December 22, 2020 by Gunboat1

[railfancwb]

Another good column.