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Bradley, John Henry "Doc"

Date of birth:
July 10th, 1923 (Antigo/Wisconsin, United States)
Date of death:
January 11th, 1994 (Antigo/Wisconsin, United States)
Nationality:
American (1776 - present, Republic)

Biography

Pharmacist's Mate Second Class John H. Bradley was a United States Navy corpsman immortalized by Joe Rosenthal's famous World War II photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.
After Iwo Jima was secured, he was ordered to Washington, D.C., arriving on April 7. Together with the other two survivors of the second flag raising, Marine Private First Class Rene A. Gagnon and Marine Private First Class Ira Hayes, he was assigned to temporary duty with the Finance Division, U.S. Treasury Department, for appearances in connection with the Seventh War Bond Drive.

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Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Pharmacist's Mate 2nd Class
Unit:
2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division "The Spearhead", U.S. Marine Corps
Awarded for:
Operation Detachment
Citation:
"For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous devotion to duty while serving as a Corpsman attached to a Marine Rifle platoon of the Second Battalion, Twenty-Eighth Marines, Fifth Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces at Iwo Jima, on 21 February 1945. During a furious assault by his company upon a strongly defended enemy zone at the base of Mt. Suribachi, Pharmacist's Mate Second Class Bradley observed a Marine infantryman fall wounded in an open area under a pounding barrage by mortars, interlaced with a merciless crossfire from Machine guns. With complete disregard for his own safety, he ran through the intense fire to the side of the fallen Marine, examined his wounds and ascertained that an immediate administration of plasma was necessary to save the man's life. Unwilling to subject any of his comrades to the danger to which he had so valiantly exposed himself, he signaled would-be assistants to remain where they were. Placing himself in a position to shield the wounded man, he tied a plasma unit to a rifle planted upright in the sand and continued his life saving mission. The Marine's wounds bandaged and the condition of shock relieved by plasma, Bradley pulled the man thirty yards through intense enemy fire to a position of safety. His indomitable spirit, dauntless initiative, and heroic devotion to duty were an inspiration to those with who he served and were in keeping with the highest tradition of the United States Naval Service."
Navy Cross

Sources

  • Photo 1: Bill Gonyo
  • - Recipients of The Navy Cross, 1916 - Present, by C. Douglas Sterner
    - Homeofheroes.com