Bruce was recommended for the Medal of Honor but the paperwork was misplaced and Congress and the Secretary of the Navy failed to act on the request. He was also recommended for the Navy Cross which was elevated to the Distinguished Service Medal, which in 1919 out ranked the Navy Cross. In the early stages of World War Two these two medals would switch in order of precedence.
Information from: Awarding of Medals in the Naval Service: Hearing Before a Subcommittee on Naval Affairs, United States Senate, Sixty Sixth Congress. By United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Naval Affairs June 6, 1919. (Published January 1920. Publisher: U.S. Government Printing Office. Pages 682)
