Robert G. Bradley

Robert Graham Bradley (26 September 1921 – 24 October 1944) was a United States Navy Lieutenant during World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for actions during the Battle of Leyte Gulf on USS Princeton (CVL-23). He was the namesake of USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG-49).

Biography
Robert Graham Bradley was born in Washington, D.C., on 26 September 1921. He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy on 9 June 1939, and graduated on 19 June 1942. He completed instruction at the Atlantic Subordinate Command, Service Force, Norfolk, Va. (3 July–27 October 1942), and on 29 October reported to New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey, for the fitting out of small aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23). He served as a member of the ship’s company when USS Princeton (CVL-23) was commissioned on 25 February 1943, and while on board received promotions to lieutenant, junior grade and lieutenant (1 May 1943 and 1 July 1944, respectively), as she took part in operations ranging from the occupation of Baker Island (September 1943) to the Battle of Leyte Gulf (October 1944).

While USS Princeton (CVL-23) steamed with Task Group 38.3 (part of Task Force 38) in Leyte Gulf off the east coast of Luzon, Philippines (24 October 1944), a Japanese plane, tentatively identified as a Yokosuka D4Y1 Type 2 [Judy], attacked the ship. Its bomb penetrated the flight, hangar, and main decks and exploded, igniting an inferno that swept across the hangar deck. Explosions rocked the carrier, but Bradley, the ship’s Assistant First Lieutenant, led a repair party and battled the blaze on the second and third decks. Light cruisers USS Birmingham (CL-62) and USS Reno (CL-96), and destroyers USS Gatling (DD-671), USS Irwin (DD-794), and USS Morrison (DD-560), also fought the fire.

The intense heat compelled Bradley and his men to abandon their efforts, and after verifying that no wounded men remained behind, he entered the water at 1005, rescued soon thereafter by USS Morrison (DD-560). Their success in fighting the fire led many of the men to believe that if they could clear the smoke from Princeton’s largely undamaged machinery spaces, they could raise steam and save the ship.

Bradley thus valiantly returned to USS Princeton (CVL-23) (1300) from USS Morrison (DD-560)—which lay alongside Princeton’s starboard quarter to play her hoses onto the flames and became temporarily wedged between two of the carrier’s overhanging stacks. A submarine and air alert sounded 30 minutes later and USS Birmingham (CL-62) and USS Morrison (DD-560), the two closest ships, pulled away from Princeton to take their antisubmarine stations. The determined firefighting efforts had nearly controlled the fire, but it raged again during the ensuing lull. Following the alert, USS Birmingham (CL-62) and USS Morrison (DD-560) closed and attempted to secure a line to USS Princeton (CVL-23). The cruiser succeeded on her third try (1515), but the flames touched off four hundred 100 pound bombs stowed aft in the torpedo magazine (1523). The resulting explosion blew off the upper part of the carrier’s stern, killing Bradley and every man in the vicinity.

USS Birmingham (CL-62), USS Gatling (DD-671), USS Irwin (DD-794), and USS Morrison (DD-560) all sustained damage by rolling against the stricken carrier or by fragments from the explosion of Princeton’s magazines—the detonation devastated USS Birmingham (CL-62), which lay alongside the carrier and lost 229 men killed, four missing, 211 seriously wounded, and 215 with minor wounds. In addition, a jeep (used to tow aircraft) fell from Princeton's flight deck, damaging Morrison’s bridge. USS Reno (CL-96) and USS Irwin (DD-794) scuttled USS Princeton (CVL-23).

Bradley had repeatedly risked his life, entering the most dangerous areas below deck to ascertain the extent of the damage and to fight the fires blazing on board. For his “outstanding fortitude, great personal valor, and self-sacrificing devotion to the completion of an extremely perilous task,” as well as his “extraordinary heroism,” Bradley received the Navy Cross posthumously.

Bradley's name appears on the Tablets of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines.

Navy Cross citation
The Commander In Chief Pacific Fleet awarded Bradley the Navy Cross for actions while serving aboard USS Princeton (CVL-23) 24 October 1944 with the following citation: