This music was inspired by the courage of the Ukrainians fighting for freedom.

Video and music by Eric Bradley

My father was a senior at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut in December, 1941 when the United States declared war on both Germany and Japan. His class graduated early and he was assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alexander Hamilton. On his first voyage aboard her she was struck by a torpedo fired by German submarine U132. You will see photos of the crew of Alexander Hamilton getting into lifeboats before she sank with 26 dead sailors aboard. The overturned lifeboat was the one my father was given command to save the most severely wounded. Unfortunately, they departed the ship before realizing it was damaged by the torpedo explosion and after taking on water it became unstable and overturned.

Following the sinking the Navy assigned him to teach gunnery at the Coast Guard Academy for a short time. He was fortunate to be able to sail aboard the Danish tall ship Danmark that had sought refuge at the Academy during the war. His desire to return to sea was finally granted when he was assigned to another cutter, Campbell, that was engaged in convoy escort across the stormy North Atlantic. Campbell had aboard a celebrity mascot dog named Sinbad. It also had a photographer aboard and you will see some of the footage he took aboard Campbell in this video. During one of the most famous and fiercest of all sea battles between convoy escorts and German Uboat wolfpacks Campbell rammed and then fired small caliber weapons upon German submarine U606. U606's hydroplane tore a gash in Campbell's hull that flooded the engine room disabling her. The gash was covered up and most of the crew transferred to Polish destroyer Bursa. My father remained aboard Campbell with a small number of crew and several German prisoners as they are towed by tug Tenacity to St. John's, Newfoundland.

After repairs were made to Campbell, she continued convoy escort duty that eventually takes her to the Mediterranean Sea where she came under air attacked by German Luftwaffe. After the Battle for the Atlantic was won by the Allies Campbell was given a new assignment in the Pacific Ocean. There she prepares for the invasion of Japan. Campbell is lashed by a strong typhoon near Okinawa. When Japan surrendered Campbell received aboard a team of Army generals and joined the fleet of occupation forces headed to Wakayama Bay in Japan. The last video is Campbell anchoring in Wakayama Bay in September, 1945.

The final photographs are of my father. The first was his Academy yearbook photo taken in New London in 1941 at the age of 21. The second was a publicity shot published by the Public Information Division of the United States Coast Guard in Washington D.C. in 1945 when he was 25 years old. It was titled "Los Angeles Coast Guard Officer in Japan" The caption; "Coast Guard Lieutenant Lawrence D. Bradley Jr., Executive Officer of a Coast Guard combat cutter was one of the first Coast Guard officers to have liberty in Japan as part of the Occupation Forces."