Individual Details

COMMANDER, US NAVY
WORLD WAR II, KOREA, VIETNAM
Cdr. Thomas J. Bedford, (USN Ret.), age 94, died March 7, 2013 at the Norman Veterans Center in Norman OK. Cdr. Bedford married Lucile Walden of Opelika, Alabama in February, 1943 while home on leave from the Pacific Fleet. He served in the United States Navy for 24 years. After attending Auburn University, he was commissioned at the US Naval Academy in 1941. Assigned to Submarine Forces Pacific Fleet, Cdr. Bedford was at Cavite Naval Base, Philippines, when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. His submarine, USS Skipjack, was famous for surviving after having been reported sunk by the Japanese Navy.
Cdr. Bedford was a veteran of WWII, the Korean War and the Lebanese Action ordered by President Eisenhower. Awards include the Bronze Star with Valor, Army Distinguished Unit Citation, Naval Reserve Medal one "star", Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal eleven "stars", WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal, Korean Service Medal one "star", National Defense Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Philippine Independence Ribbon, Philippine Presidential Unit Citation and the Korean Presidential Unit Citation.
During his career, Cdr. Bedford served in Oklahoma City, OK from 1957 to 1961 as Commanding Officer, Naval Reserve Training Centers for the State of Oklahoma. He and his wife were members of Village Methodist Church.
After retiring in 1964, Cdr. Bedford moved to Atlanta where he managed Lenox Towers office buildings for 12 years. Retiring again, he and and his wife moved to Pensacola, FL. in 1976 and lived there for 26 years. In 2001, they moved to Norman, Oklahoma to be near their youngest son, John.
Cdr. Bedford was a member of the Military Officers Assn. of America, Submarine Veterans of WWII, Asiatic Fleet Survivors Assn., General Society of Mayflower Descendants (he was Governor of the Edward Winslow Colony), Auburn University Alumni Association and Disabled American Veterans. - Pensacola News Journal on March 21, 2013 

Birth	22 Apr 1918	Gordo, Pickens County, Alabama
Census (family)-shared	15 Jan 1920	(Edward Monroe Bedford Sr. and Belle Maxwell) Raleigh, Pickens County, Alabama
Census (family)-shared	2 Apr 1930	(Edward Monroe Bedford Sr. and Belle Maxwell) Raleigh, Pickens County, Alabama
Marriage	Feb 1943	Alabama - Living
Death	7 Mar 2013	Norman, Cleveland County, Oklahoma
Burial		Barrancas National Cemetery, Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida

Spouse	Living
Child	Living

Father	Edward Monroe Bedford Sr. (1883 - 1975)
Mother	Belle Maxwell (1888 - 1950)
Sibling	Edward Monroe Bedford Jr. (1916 - 2007)
Sibling	Mary Elizabeth Bedford (1925 - 2013)
Sibling	Audrey Virginia Bedford (1927 - 2007)

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