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Michael Kohan (Mikey), ATCS
to remember
McCandless, Bruce, Sr. (MOH), RADM USN(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Washington, DC
Last Address Washington, DC
Date of Passing Jan 24, 1968
Location of Interment U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery and Columbarium (VLM) - Annapolis, Maryland
Wall/Plot Coordinates New Section 7; Plot 1179
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Rear Admiral Bruce McCandless was born 12 August 1911 at Washington D.C., the son of then Lieutenant (later Commodore) Byron McCandless, USN. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1932, served with Scouting Squadron 11-S in cruiser INDIANAPOLIS, and in destroyer CASE.
Upon completion of a General Line course at Annapolis, 1938-1939, he became Communications Officer of cruiser SAN FRANCISCO (CA-38). He was serving in that famed cruiser at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese made their infamous raid. Then a Lieutenant Commander, McCandless continued to serve in SAN FRANCISCO as she helped protect fast carrier task groups guarding reinforcements to the Samoan Islands, conducting raids at New Guinea, and giving direct support to the Guadalcanal-Tulagi landings in the Solomons. His ship fought to victory in the Battle of Cape Esperance to spare Marines on Guadalcanal from a fierce naval bombardment, then endured a savage action to repel enemy aircraft attacking transports off Guadalcanal. The flagship of a cruiser-destroyer task group under Rear Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan, SAN FRANCISCO led the formation the night of 13-14 November 1942 to intercept a Japanese raiding force of 2 battleships, 1 light cruiser and 14 destroyers steaming south with orders to bombard and knock out the Henderson Field in Guadalcanal. Well-aimed salvos found their mark on both Japanese battleships before SAN FRANCISCO came under fire from three directions and was so damaged that she temporarily lost power and steering control. As she slowed from 17 knots, enemy shells exploded on the navigating bridge and flag-bridge killing Rear Admiral Callaghan and all but one of his staff. Lieutenant Commander Bruce McCandless found himself the senior officer on the bridge and took command to continue to fight to the finish. His cruiser was caught between two columns of enemy ships, sustaining 45 separate hits by heavy shells and countless fragment and machine gun hits. Though he was seriously wounded, Lieutenant Commander McCandless boldy continued to direct gunfire at the enemy on every side and led the task group to victory. When the desperate sea fight ended, 3 enemy destroyers were damaged, two sunk, and the rudderless battleship HIEI so damaged that aircraft were able to sink her the next day. Henderson Field was again saved from bombardment. Air operations from that field on the next day disposed of 11 troop-laden enemy transports. Despite the serious damage and great loss of life on board, SAN FRANCISCO lived to fight again. Her temporary commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Bruce McCandless was awarded the Medal of Honor for his supreme courage and superb leadership that resulted in victory in the face of overwhelming odds in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (12-13 November 1942). He was also given a meritorious promotion to the rank of Commander in recognition of this achievement. Commander McCandless remained in SAN FRANCISCO as she helped drive the enemy from the Aleutians and assisted in the capture and occupation of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands. Detached from the cruiser 8 March 1944, he took command of destroyer GREGORY which supported the capture of Iwo Jima and shot down 6 enemy aircraft during combat operation off Okinawa. Commander McCandless was awarded the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry while commanding GREGORY off Okinawa 1-8 April 1945. His ship provided anti-aircraft protection to ships in the transport area and served on radar picket stations during this period. On 8 April 1945, four enemy suicide planes attacked. Two were destroyed and a third driven off but a fourth crashed into his ship. Commander McCandless skillfully directed his men to quickly control damage so that his destroyer was able to drive off further attacks and return to port. GREGORY was routed to San Diego where her crushed and torn hull was repaired under the direction of the father of the commanding officer, Commodore Byron McCandless.
Commander Bruce McCandless was detached from GREGORY in October 1945.
He served as Assistant Chief of Staff for the Naval Operating Base at Terminal Island, California, until October 1946. After heading the District Affairs Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, he commanded Mine Division Two. In June 1950 he was ordered to the Naval Academy for duty in the Executive Department.
Having been promoted to the rank of Captain, he transferred to the Retired List 1 September 1952 and advanced to the rank of Rear Admiral on the basis of combat awards. He was the father of Naval Aviator and NASA Astronaut Bruce McCandless II. He died at Washington, D.C., on 24 January 1968 and is buried at the United States Naval Academy.
Other Comments:
Medal of Honor
Awarded for Actions During World War II
Service: Navy
Division: U.S.S. San Francisco (CA-38)
Citation: The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Commander Bruce McCandless (NSN: 0-71628), United States Navy-
"for conspicuous gallantry and exceptionally distinguished service above and beyond the call of duty as Communication Officer of the U.S.S. SAN FRANCISCO in combat with enemy Japanese forces in the battle off Savo Island, 12 & 13 November 1942. In the midst of a violent night engagement, the fire of a determined and desperate enemy seriously wounded Lieutenant Commander McCandless and rendered him unconscious, killed or wounded the admiral in command, his staff, the Captain of the ship, the navigator, and all other personnel on the navigating and signal bridges. Faced with the lack of superior command upon his recovery, and displaying superb initiative, he promptly assumed command of the ship and ordered her course and gunfire against an overwhelmingly powerful force. With his superiors in other vessels unaware of the loss of their admiral, and challenged by his great responsibility, Lieutenant Commander McCandless boldly continued to engage the enemy and to lead our column of following vessels to a great victory. Largely through his brilliant seamanship and great courage, the San Francisco was brought back to port, saved to fight again in the service of her country."
Mariana and Palau Islands Campaign (1944)/Battle of Saipan
From Month/Year
June / 1944
To Month/Year
July / 1944
Description The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June–9 July 1944. The Allied invasion fleet embarking the expeditionary forces left Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1944, the day before Operation Overlord in Europe was launched. The U.S. 2nd Marine Division, 4th Marine Division, and 27th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Holland Smith, defeated the 43rd Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saito.
Bombardment of Saipan began on 13 June 1944. Fifteen battleships were involved, and 165,000 shells were fired. Seven modern fast battleships delivered twenty-four hundred 16 in (410 mm) shells, but to avoid potential minefields, fire was from a distance of 10,000 yd (9,100 m) or more, and crews were inexperienced in shore bombardment. The following day the eight older battleships and 11 cruisers under Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf replaced the fast battleships but were lacking in time and ammunition.
The landings[4] began at 07:00 on 15 June 1944. More than 300 LVTs landed 8,000 Marines on the west coast of Saipan by about 09:00. Eleven fire support ships covered the Marine landings. The naval force consisted of the battleships Tennessee and California. The cruisers were Birmingham and Indianapolis. The destroyers were Norman Scott, Monssen, Colahan, Halsey Powell, Bailey, Robinson and Albert W. Grant. Careful Japanese artillery preparation — placing flags in the lagoon to indicate the range — allowed them to destroy about 20 amphibious tanks, and the Japanese strategically placed barbed wire, artillery, machine gun emplacements, and trenches to maximize the American casualties. However, by nightfall the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions had a beachhead about 6 mi (10 km) wide and 0.5 mi (1 km) deep. The Japanese counter-attacked at night but were repulsed with heavy losses. On 16 June, units of the U.S. Army's 27th Infantry Division landed and advanced on the airfield at Ås Lito (which is now the location of Saipan International Airport). Again the Japanese counter-attacked at night. On 18 June, Saito abandoned the airfield.
The invasion surprised the Japanese high command, which had been expecting an attack further south. Admiral Soemu Toyoda, commander-in-chief of the Japanese Navy, saw an opportunity to use the A-Go force to attack the U.S. Navy forces around Saipan. On 15 June, he gave the order to attack. But the resulting battle of the Philippine Sea was a disaster for the Imperial Japanese Navy, which lost three aircraft carriers and hundreds of planes. The garrisons of the Marianas would have no hope of resupply or reinforcement.
Without resupply, the battle on Saipan was hopeless for the defenders, but the Japanese were determined to fight to the last man. Saito organized his troops into a line anchored on Mount Tapotchau in the defensible mountainous terrain of central Saipan. The nicknames given by the Americans to the features of the battle — "Hell's Pocket", "Purple Heart Ridge" and "Death Valley" — indicate the severity of the fighting. The Japanese used the many caves in the volcanic landscape to delay the attackers, by hiding during the day and making sorties at night. The Americans gradually developed tactics for clearing the caves by using flamethrower teams supported by artillery and machine guns.
The operation was marred by inter-service controversy when Marine General Holland Smith, unsatisfied with the performance of the 27th Division, relieved its commander, Army Major General Ralph C. Smith. However, General Holland Smith had not inspected the terrain over which the 27th was to advance. Essentially, it was a valley surrounded by hills and cliffs under Japanese control. The 27th took heavy casualties and eventually, under a plan developed by General Ralph Smith and implemented after his relief, had one battalion hold the area while two other battalions successfully flanked the Japanese.
By 7 July, the Japanese had nowhere to retreat. Saito made plans for a final suicidal banzai charge. On the fate of the remaining civilians on the island, Saito said, "There is no longer any distinction between civilians and troops. It would be better for them to join in the attack with bamboo spears than be captured." At dawn, with a group of 12 men carrying a great red flag in the lead, the remaining able-bodied troops — about 3,000 men — charged forward in the final attack. Amazingly, behind them came the wounded, with bandaged heads, crutches, and barely armed. The Japanese surged over the American front lines, engaging both army and Marine units. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 105th Infantry Regiment were almost destroyed, losing 650 killed and wounded. However, the fierce resistance of these two battalions, as well as that of Headquarters Company, 105th Infantry, and supply elements of 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Artillery Regiment resulted in over 4,300 Japanese killed. For their actions during the 15-hour Japanese attack, three men of the 105th Infantry were awarded the Medal of Honor — all posthumously. Numerous others fought the Japanese until they were overwhelmed by the largest Japanese Banzai attack in the Pacific War.
By 16:15 on 9 July, Admiral Turner announced that Saipan was officially secured. Saito — along with commanders Hirakushi and Igeta — committed suicide in a cave. Also committing suicide at the end of the battle was Vice-Admiral Chuichi Nagumo — the naval commander who led the Japanese carriers at Pearl Harbor and Midway — who had been assigned to Saipan to direct the Japanese naval air forces based there.
In the end, almost the entire garrison of troops on the island — at least 30,000 — died. For the Americans, the victory was the most costly to date in the Pacific War. 2,949 Americans were killed and 10,464 wounded, out of 71,000 who landed. Hollywood actor Lee Marvin was among the many American wounded. He was serving with "I" Company, 24th Marine Regiment, when he was shot in the buttocks by Japanese machine gun fire during the assault on Mount Tapochau. He was awarded the Purple Heart and was given a medical discharge with the rank of Private First Class in 1945.
