View source for Bruce McCandless

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{short description|United States Navy Medal of Honor recipient}}
{{about|the US Naval officer who was awarded the Medal of Honor for service in the Second World War|his son, the former Navy aviator and NASA astronaut|Bruce McCandless II}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Bruce McCandless
|birth_date= {{birth date|1911|8|12}}
|death_date= {{death date and age|1968|1|24|1911|8|12}}
| 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= {{flag|United States Navy}}
|serviceyears= 1928–1952
|rank= [[File:US-O8 insignia.svg|23px]] [[Rear admiral (United States)|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]], {{post-nominals|list=[[United States Navy|USN]]}} <small>(father)</small>
 |Captain [[Bruce McCandless II]], {{post-nominals|list=USN, [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]]}} <small>(son)</small>
 |Sue Worthington McCandless Wooldridge <small>(daughter)</small>
 |Rosemary van&nbsp;Linde McCandless <small>(daughter)</small>
 |Douglas Montrose McCandless <small>(son)</small>
 |Sir [[Henry Hudson Kitson]] {{post-nominals|OBE}} <small>(maternal great uncle)</small>
 |Captain [[Willis W. Bradley]], {{post-nominals|list=USN}} (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 {{USS|San Francisco|CA-38|6}} during the [[Naval Battle of Guadalcanal]] on November 13, 1942. He retired with the rank of rear admiral. McCandless was the father of [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]] [[astronaut]] Captain [[Bruce McCandless II]], USN (Ret). Additionally, Admiral McCandless was the great-grandson of [[McCanles Gang|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.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/luckybag1932unse |title=Lucky Bag |date=1932 |publisher=First Class, United States Naval Academy |others=Nimitz Library U. S. Naval Academy}}</ref> His classmates included [[Richard Halsey Best|Richard Best]], [[Henry G. Munson|Henry Munson]], and [[Lloyd M. Mustin|Lloyd Mustin]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/luckybag1932unse |title=Lucky Bag |date=1932 |publisher=First Class, United States Naval Academy |others=Nimitz Library U. S. Naval Academy}}</ref>

McCandless married Sue Worthington Bradley, daughter of [[Captain (United States O-6)|Captain]] [[Willis W. Bradley]], USN. They had two sons and two daughters, including NASA astronaut [[Bruce McCandless II]].

==Military service==

[[File: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|thumb|upright=1.3|Admiral [[Chester Nimitz]] (center) visits Commander [[Herbert Emery Schonland|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]] {{USS|Indianapolis|CA-35|6}} and the [[destroyer]] {{USS|Case|DD-370|6}}. He was serving as communications officer of the cruiser {{USS|San Francisco|CA-38|6}} when the [[Empire of Japan]] [[attack on Pearl Harbor|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]]<ref>{{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
}}</ref> and his staff, including Captain [[Cassin Young]] and all other officers on ''San Francisco''{{'}}s [[Bridge (nautical)|bridge]], except Lieutenant Commander McCandless, who took the [[conn (nautical)|conn]] for the rest of the battle. For his conduct, he was awarded the Medal of Honor, and promoted to full [[Commander (United States)|commander]]. ''San Francisco'' received the Presidential Unit Citation for this battle and, by the end of the war, was credited with 17 battle stars.

Cmdr. McCandless continued to serve on ''San Francisco'' until 1944, when he took command of the newly commissioned destroyer {{USS|Gregory|DD-802|6}} on July 29 of the same year. On April 8, 1945, during the [[Battle of Okinawa]], ''Gregory'' was attacked and damaged by four [[kamikaze]]s 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 (United States)|rear admiral]]. He died in [[Washington, D.C.]], on January 24, 1968, and was buried in the Naval Academy Cemetery in [[Annapolis, Maryland]].

==Awards and honors==

{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="3"|{{ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=Medal of Honor ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=award-star|ribbon=SilverStar.gif|width=110}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=Purple Heart ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=|type=award-star|ribbon=Combat_Action_Ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=United States Navy Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|other_device=|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=6|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="3"|[[Medal of Honor]]
|-
|[[Silver Star]]
|[[Purple Heart]]
|[[Combat Action Ribbon]]
|-
|[[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation]]<br /> w/ [[service star|{{frac|3|16}}" Bronze Star]]
|[[American Defense Service Medal]]<br />w/ [[medal bar|Fleet Clasp]] ({{frac|3|16}}" Bronze Star)
|[[American Campaign Medal]]
|-
|[[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]]<br />w/ one {{frac|3|16}}" Silver Star and one {{frac|3|16}}" Bronze Star
|[[World War II Victory Medal]]
|[[National Defense Service Medal]]
|-
|}

===Medal of Honor citation===
[[File:Adm. E. J. King, USN, presents the Medal of Honor to Cdr. B. McCandless, USN.jpg|thumb|right|Admiral [[Ernest King]], USN, presents the Medal of Honor to Commander McCandless, USN, December 12, 1942.]]
<blockquote>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.</blockquote>

===Legacy===
In 1971, the [[frigate]] {{USS|McCandless|FF-1084}} 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.

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [[List of Medal of Honor recipients]]
* [[List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II#M|List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{DANFS}}

==External links==
* {{Cite web |accessdate=September 24, 2010 |url=http://www.homeofheros.com/a_homepage/community/misc/mccandless_family.htm |title=phies of McCandless naval officers}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131207004314/http://usssanfrancisco.org/The%20San%20Francisco%20Story.htm "The San Francisco Story", by RADM Bruce McCandless]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140226152223/http://www.homeofheroes.com/a_homepage/community/misc/mccandless_family.htm The Mccandless Family's Contribution to America]

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCandless, Bruce}}
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients]]
[[Category:United States Navy rear admirals (upper half)]]
[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:American people of Scotch-Irish descent]]
[[Category:Burials at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Silver Star]]
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor]]