Ed Bradley, brother of the late Lt. Robert G. Bradley, stands with a portrait of his brother on display on board his brother's namesake ship. -Photo courtesy of USS Robert G. Bradley

USS Robert G. Bradley Welcomes Ed Bradley

By Ensign Bryan Koehler
USS Robert G. Bradley

The officers and crew of USS Robert G. Bradley received a very special gift and visitor recently. Ed Bradley, brother of the ship's namesake Lt. Robert Graham Bradley, came to Naval Station Mayport in December to see the ship for the first time.

RGB is named after Robert Graham Bradley, who was born in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 26, 1921. He was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy on June 9, 1939, and graduated with the class of 1943 on June 19, 1942 due to the exigencies of war. From July 3-Oct. 27, 1942, he underwent instruction at the Atlantic Subordinate Command, Service Force at Norfolk, Va., before reporting to the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, N.J., to assist in fitting out the fleet carrier USS Princeton (CVL 23), which was ultimately placed in commission on Feb. 25, 1943.

While serving on that ship, he received promotions to lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant and took part in every operation conducted by the ship ranging from the occupation of Baker Island in September 1943 to the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, in which he and the ship were lost.

On Oct. 24, 1944, Princeton was operating off the coast of Luzon, in the Leyte Gulf, about 150 miles east of Manila, when a Japanese dive bomber attacked it, releasing a single bomb that penetrated the flight, hangar and main decks of the ''jeep carrier'' before exploding, touching off a conflagration that soon had the carrier's entire hangar deck ablaze. A series of explosions then rocked the ship.

Lt. Bradley, Princeton's Assistant First Lieutenant, led a repair party in the valiant effort to control the fires on the second and third decks until the intense heat generated by those flames forced him and his men to fall back.

After ensuring that no wounded men had been left behind during the abandonment, Bradley followed his men into the water at about 10:05 a.m. and was picked up by the destroyer Morrison (DD 560) soon thereafter.

Shortly before 1 p.m., when the ship did not sink, Bradley left Morrison and rejoined his ship and the efforts to save it. Unfortunately, a submarine and air alert at 1:30 p.m. drew off Birmingham (CL 62) and Morrison - the two ships then alongside - to assume screening positions, at a time when the fire was almost totally under control. The persistent blaze flared up. Shortly thereafter, at 3:23 p.m., the flames touched off a mass detonation of 400 100-pound bombs stowed aft in a torpedo magazine in Princeton. This explosion literally blew off the carrier's stern, killing Bradley and every man in the repair party that had been in the vicinity.

Bradley had repeatedly risked his life, entering the most dangerous areas below decks to ascertain the extent of damage and to fight the fires blazing on board ship. 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'' in the line of duty, Lt. Bradley was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

Edward Bradley, traveled from Albuquerque, N.M., for a four-day stay in Mayport. He met most of the crew, and learned what it is like to be stationed on board a U.S. Navy warship. During his visit, he presented the ship with a small green metal container with a cipher lock stenciled with R. G. Bradley. He said it was Lt. Bradley's personal box where he kept his personal belongings. Unfortunately, all that remained was the box from 1939. It now has a place of honor locked in a case on RGB's mess decks.

He also had the opportunity to attend a surprise ceremony.

The Command Advancement Program award ceremony took place on the flight deck where three unsuspecting crewmembers were advanced to their next perspective pay grades in front of the entire crew. They were chosen by the commanding officer after a selection board held in the Chief's Mess recommended they be advanced based on outstanding demonstrated merit. In addition to Bradley, Commodore Mark Klatt, Commander, Destroyer Squadron 14, attended the event and frocked EM1(SW) Leo MacDonald, GSE2(SW) Eric Aguirre and ET2(SW) Matthew Gallagher.

The ship's Christmas Party was held on Dec. 4 at the Sea Turtle Inn in Atlantic Beach, at which time Bradley was presented with a ship's plaque on behalf of the officers and crew of RGB. Additionally, he was presented with a framed ship's photo and several other articles of RGB memorabilia.

Bradley impressed several Sailors with his zest for life having spent 48 years in commercial printing, and showing absolutely no signs of slowing down throughout his retirement. He said he works out four times a week, and tries his best to ''swear off sweets.'' He also does much to assist his fellow retirees in Albuquerque.

His presence provided a truly unique opportunity for everyone to learn much about the ship's namesake. He told crewmembers that ''Bob was a great brother and a fantastic guy.'' He said he remembered living in Washington, D.C., and going to the Naval Academy to attend events his brother was participating in. He was around 12 years old at the time. He remembered Lt. Bradley being ''such a neat guy.''

Also during Bradley's stay, he attended the officer's Hail and Farewell and Christmas party held at the home of the ship's commanding officer. While there, he spoke with members of the Wardroom and their spouses about their careers, as well as to share memories of his older brother. He said he was extremely impressed with the quality of all the Sailors aboard his brother's legacy.

''My parents would have been very proud to see this crew serve aboard her,'' he said.

He continued to relay his extreme gratitude at having his brother's name attached to ''such a fine ship.'' He was fascinated about how the full name of Robert G. Bradley is everywhere and he really enjoyed receiving ball caps. He stated that the retired WWII military living in his community would be asking a lot of questions when he returned as they were all interested in his visit.

The visit left a lasting impression to all who met Bradley. It brought renewed meaning to words such as honor, courage, and commitment.