John D. Bulkeley | |
|---|---|
 Vice Admiral John D. Bulkeley | |
| Nickname(s) | "Sea Wolf" |
| Born | 19 August 1911 New York City, US |
| Died | 6 April 1996 (aged 84) Silver Spring, Maryland, US |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1933–1988 |
| Rank | Vice Admiral |
| Service number | 0-72460 |
| Commands | Motor Torpedo Boat Subchaser Squadron One Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Seven Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Two Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons-Europe USS Endicott USS Stribling Destroyer Division 132 USS Tolovana Destroyer Squadron Twelve Clarksville Nuclear Modification Center Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Eight Guantanamo Bay Naval Base |
| Battles / wars | World War II Korean War |
| Awards | Medal of Honor Navy Cross Distinguished Service Cross (2) Navy Distinguished Service Medal (3) Silver Star (2) Legion of Merit (2) Purple Heart (2) Croix de Guerre (France) Distinguished Conduct Star (Philippines) |
John Duncan Bulkeley (19 August 1911 – 6 April 1996) was a vice admiral in the United States Navy and was one of its most decorated naval officers. Bulkeley received the Medal of Honor for actions in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He was also the PT boat skipper who evacuated General Douglas MacArthur from Corregidor in the Philippines and commanded at the Battle of La Ciotat.
Bulkeley's PT-boat heroics in defending the Philippines from Japanese invasion in 1941-1942 was the subject of the novel "They Were Expendable" by William Lindsay White in 1942, which was turned into the big screen epic They Were Expendable three years later by director John Ford, starring John Wayne, with Robert Montgomery playing a somewhat fictionalized Bulkeley role.
The United States Navy named an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer after him: USS Bulkeley (DDG-84), commissioned in 2001.