Bruce McCandless
United States Navy Medal of Honor recipient
title: "Bruce McCandless" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["united-states-navy-personnel-of-world-war-ii", "united-states-navy-medal-of-honor-recipients", "united-states-navy-rear-admirals-(upper-half)", "united-states-naval-academy-alumni", "military-personnel-from-washington,-d.c.", "american-people-of-scotch-irish-descent", "burials-at-the-united-states-naval-academy-cemetery", "recipients-of-the-silver-star", "1911-births", "1968-deaths", "world-war-ii-recipients-of-the-medal-of-honor"] description: "United States Navy Medal of Honor recipient" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_McCandless" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary United States Navy Medal of Honor recipient ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox military person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Bruce McCandless |
| birth_date | |
| death_date | |
| birth_place | Washington, DC |
| death_place | Washington, DC |
| placeofburial | US Naval Academy Cemetery, Annapolis, Maryland |
| placeofburial_label | Place of burial |
| image | Commander Bruce McCandless, USN.jpg |
| allegiance | United States of America |
| branch | United States Navy |
| serviceyears | 1928–1952 |
| rank | [[File:US-O8 insignia.svg |
| battles | World War II |
| awards | {{unbulleted list |
| spouse | Sue Worthington Bradley |
| relations | {{unbulleted list |
| Commodore Byron McCandless, {{post-nominals | list |
| Captain Bruce McCandless II, {{post-nominals | list |
| Captain Willis W. Bradley, {{post-nominals | list |
| :: |
|name= Bruce McCandless |birth_date= |death_date= | birth_place = Washington, DC | death_place = Washington, DC | placeofburial = US Naval Academy Cemetery, Annapolis, Maryland | placeofburial_label = Place of burial |image=Commander Bruce McCandless, USN.jpg |caption= |nickname= |allegiance= United States of America |branch= United States Navy |serviceyears= 1928–1952 |rank= [[File:US-O8 insignia.svg|23px]] Rear admiral |commands= |unit= |battles= World War II
- Attack on Pearl Harbor
- Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
- Battle of Okinawa
- Battle of Iwo Jima
- Battle of Cape Esperance
- Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign
- Battle of the Aleutian Islands
- Solomon Islands campaign |awards= {{unbulleted list|
- Medal of Honor
- Silver Star
- Purple Heart}} |laterwork= |spouse=Sue Worthington Bradley |relations={{unbulleted list |Commodore Byron McCandless, (father) |Captain Bruce McCandless II, (son) |Sue Worthington McCandless Wooldridge (daughter) |Rosemary van Linde McCandless (daughter) |Douglas Montrose McCandless (son) |Sir Henry Hudson Kitson (maternal great uncle) |Captain Willis W. Bradley, (father-in-law) |Sue Worthington Bradley (mother-in-law)
Bruce McCandless I (August 12, 1911 – January 24, 1968) was an officer of United States Navy who received the Medal of Honor during World War II for his heroism on board during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942. He retired with the rank of rear admiral. McCandless was the father of NASA astronaut Captain Bruce McCandless II, USN (Ret). Additionally, Admiral McCandless was the great-grandson of David Colbert McCanles of the Rock Creek Station, Nebraska, shoot-out with Wild Bill Hickok. After that incident, the McCanles family changed their name to McCandless and moved to Florence, Colorado.
Early life and family
The son of Rear Admiral (formerly Commodore) Byron McCandless (1881–1967), Bruce McCandless was born on August 12, 1911, in Washington, D.C. Following in his father's footsteps, Bruce graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1932. His classmates included Richard Best, Henry Munson, and Lloyd Mustin.
McCandless married Sue Worthington Bradley, daughter of Captain Willis W. Bradley, USN. They had two sons and two daughters, including NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless II.
Military service
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Admiral_Chester_W._Nimitz_with_Cdr_Herbert_E.Schonland_and_LCdr_Bruce_McCandless_aboard_USS_San_Francisco(CA-38),in_December_1942(80-G-40031).jpg" caption="Herbert E. Schonland]] (left) and Lt. Commander Bruce McCandless on board the USS ''San Francisco'' at Pearl Harbor in December 1942. During the [[Naval Battle of Guadalcanal]], Schonland assumed command after the ship's Captain was killed, and led damage control efforts. McCandless, the ship's Communications Officer, navigated the ship to safety. Both Schonland and McCandless received the Medal of Honor for their actions during and immediately after the battle."] ::
McCandless served on the cruiser and the destroyer . He was serving as communications officer of the cruiser when the Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. On November 13, 1942, during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, Japanese gunfire killed Rear Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan{{cite video | year =1942 | title =Video: America Reports On Aid To Allies Etc. (1942) | url =https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.38937 | publisher =Universal Newsreel | accessdate =February 21, 2012
Cmdr. McCandless continued to serve on San Francisco until 1944, when he took command of the newly commissioned destroyer on July 29 of the same year. On April 8, 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, Gregory was attacked and damaged by four kamikazes and McCandless was awarded the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry during the battle.
Captain McCandless retired on September 1, 1952, with a terminal promotion to the rank of rear admiral. He died in Washington, D.C., on January 24, 1968, and was buried in the Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland.
Medal of Honor citation
Medal of Honor citation
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Adm._E._J._King,_USN,_presents_the_Medal_of_Honor_to_Cdr._B._McCandless,_USN.jpg" caption="Admiral [[Ernest King]], USN, presents the Medal of Honor to Commander McCandless, USN, December 12, 1942."] ::
::quote 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 Lt. Comdr. 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, Lt. Comdr. 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. ::
Awards and decorations
::data[format=table]
| :: |
::data[format=table]
Legacy
In 1971, the frigate was named in honor of RADM McCandless and his father, Commodore Byron McCandless. There is also a street at the U.S. Naval Academy named after Admiral McCandless, as well as the Colorado State Veterans Nursing Home in Florence, Colorado. Commodore Byron McCandless has a street named after him at the US Naval Base, San Diego, California.
References
References
- (1932). "Lucky Bag". First Class, United States Naval Academy.
- (1932). "Lucky Bag". First Class, United States Naval Academy.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::