Retired Navy Vice Adm. John D. Bulkeley, 84, a World War II Medal of Honor winner and one of the most decorated men in U.S. history, died Saturday in Silver Spring, Md.
Vice Adm. Bulkeley is probably best known as the naval officer who effected the escape of Gen. Douglas MacArthur from Corregidor in the Philippines in 1942 through a daring breakout using torpedo boats to convey the general and his staff through a Japanese blockade.
Vice Adm. Bulkeley also won renown during the Normandy invasion. He commanded minesweepers and torpedo boats that cleared sea lanes for the invasion fleet.
In the 1960s while in command of the Guantanamo Bay naval base, Vice Adm. Bulkeley faced down Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, who had cut off fresh water to the base. In response, the admiral had the pipeline severed and a desalination plant constructed to make the base self-sufficient.
Vice Adm. Bulkeley served from 1929 until 1988, the final 21 years as president of the Board of Inspection and Survey, whose purpose was to ensure that all naval hardware was ready to perform. In an interview last year, Vice Adm. Bulkeley said he felt these duties were some of the most important he had performed.
Shortly before he died, Vice Adm. Bulkeley said, “I have no regrets on anything that I’ve done. Well, I should have got a bigger boat.”
Survivors include his wife, Alice; two sons, John Jr. and Peter, a Navy captain; and three daughters, Joan Stade, Regina Day and Diana Lindsay.
Services are pending.
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