“I went in the Navy around August 22nd. Incidentally, one of my cousins had joined the Navy and got out the day before. So he got out on the 21st of August and I went in on the 22nd, so there were five of us boys that joined the Navy, cousins of mine on one side of the family. He got out, I went in,” recalled Bruce A. Cromell, Jr. to a United States Navy Memorial film crew at the USS Missouri Reunion in the fall of 2013.  Another cousin of Cromell’s was serving on the USS New Jersey and Cromell planned to make strong efforts so that they could serve together.

After completing boot camp in San Diego and ranking as top in his class at A School, Cromell was given the choice of assignments. “I had graduated the top of my class so they offered me … a ship and a home port. My cousin was on the USS New Jersey which was the other battleship in Long Beach. So I put battleship and Long Beach,” he recounted. Much to Cromell’s surprise he was assigned to the USS Missouri, which was also stationed in Long Beach. After a short leave, his first sight of his new assignment would leave a lasting impact. He shared, “I remember walking down the pier and there were two battleships, the New Jersey was on the left side of the pier and the Missouri was on the right side of the pier. I can remember it was at night and the steam was coming off the steam lines...and it was an awe-inspiring moment, so I checked into the Missouri and I quickly went over to the New Jersey and found my cousin.” 

Aboard the USS Missouri, Cromell would participate in two multi-Nation naval exercises that included PacEx 89 and RimPac. After these exercises, the Missouri was ordered to the Persian Gulf. The Missouri would sail into harm’s way providing fire support for U.S. Forces during the Gulf War. Threats of mines, chemical warfare, and air attacks would keep the crew of the USS Missouri alert and prepared to face any threat.

Cromell served on the USS Missouri for her third combat tour and witnessed the power of her latest modifications and weaponry. “Two weeks passed…after we got into the Gulf that we actually went to general quarters and started shooting a salvo of tomahawk missiles…and we stayed in general quarters for several days,” he remembered. Cromell spoke of a number of experiences during his Gulf War service, one of which included the Missouri coming under threat of missile attacks. Cromell recalled, “The Iraqis shot a couple of silkworm missiles at us, one of them splashed, the other one went right over our fan tail and was coming back. The HMS Gloucester shot it down with two sea darts; those guys on that British ship saved our bacon that day."

To hear Interior Communications Electrician Third Class Bruce A. Cromell, Jr’s story come alive, view his detailed experience that has been digitally archived by the Navy Memorial.

Mr. Herrera took a moment with his story and paused as if remembering where he was before his Swift Boat was dispatched into harm’s way. He recalled, “That morning we prepared like we always did when it was our turn for patrol PCF 79, Patrol Craft Fast….We went out on patrol and later on in the day we received a coded message that my boat officer, Mr. Bergin, had to decode using special equipment that we had and the message said that an enemy ship was headed our way… My job as a Radio-Radarman was to plot the course of the different contacts and we noticed that the enemy ship was going into our patrol area.”

The United States Navy Memorial honors United States Navy Interior Communications Electrician Third Class Bruce A. Cromell, Jr., featured within this series titled, Stories of Service, Story of the Month. Each month, this series honors a Veteran’s story recorded by the Stories of Service Program at the Navy Memorial.