From Deseret News archives:
Utahn's military service filled with pain, heroism
A former California resident, Bullock was brought to Salt Lake City more than a year ago by his son, a local attorney, who wanted to take care of him.
Besides his five Purple Heart awards, he's a recipient of the Bronze Star, the Combat Infantryman's Badge and the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest award for valor, for his actions on Attu in the Aleutian Islands. He is also one of only an estimated 50 World War II veterans who are members of the Legion of Valor, an organization for those recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest valor award, and the Distinguished Service Cross.
"I had four brothers, and all five of us served during the war — and I was the only one wounded. Five times, in fact, so I guess that was once for each of us," Bullock said.
A remarkable thing about Bullock's Army service is that he started as a private in Co. G, 32nd Infantry Regiment, yet ended up commanding the company during intense fighting on Okinawa.
All that came about in this way:
When his brother, Ted, was drafted in January 1941, Bullock volunteered to go into the Army "so we could go together." He was to serve a year, but 11 months later, Pearl Harbor was bombed, and he was in for the duration. Although he wanted to go to Officer Candidate School, the Army deemed him not to have the necessary leadership qualities.
After training at Fort Ord, Calif., Bullock and the rest of the 7th Infantry Division were shipped to Alaska on May 12, 1943, to drive the Japanese out of the Aleutian Islands
In the Aleutians
The division arrived at Massacre Bay and immediately went on the attack.
"I remember being caught out in the open without any cover and seeing and hearing the bullets rip past me. I would run until I got tired and then fall down. When the bullets got close, I would get up and run again. My flashlight and canteen were shot off my belt, but I never got hit," Bullock said.
While Bullock and the platoon leader, a Lt. Gilbert, were looking for wounded men, the company pulled back without letting them know, so they stayed all night in place rather than trying to rejoin the company and possibly getting shot.
On May 22, near the Massacre and Sarana valleys, Gilbert was killed in an ambush on a ridge later called Gilbert Ridge. When the lieutenant was killed, Bullock assumed command of the platoon and while in a forward-most position, poked his head around a rock to see an enemy with a scraggly beard who also was wondering what was on the other side of the rock.
