THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 8, 1996 TAG: 9604080063
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
John Bulkeley, a retired Navy vice admiral and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Pacific during World War II, died Saturday at his home in suburban Silver Spring, Md. He was 84.
Bulkeley was a patrol torpedo (PT) boat commander in World War II who was known for his breakthrough of Japanese lines for the transportation of Gen. Douglas MacArthur and his staff from Corregidor to Bataan to Mindanao in the Philippines.
From there, MacArthur was flown to Australia, where he assumed command of the Allied forces in the southwest Pacific.
For his service over a four-month period in defense of the Philippines, Bulkeley was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration.
His other awards included the Navy Cross, two Army Distinguished Service Crosses, a Distinguished Service Medal, two Silver Star Medals, two Legion of Merit awards and the Purple Heart.
Bulkeley was born in New York on Aug. 19, 1911, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1933.
He originally retired from the Navy in 1974 as president of the Navy Board of Inspection and Survey.
Bulkeley was later retained on active duty and continued in that position until retiring again in 1988 after 55 years of naval service.
He is survived by his wife, Hilda, and their five children. by CNB