Bridie, Robert
BRIDIE, MCCURNIN
Posted By: Nettie Mae (email)
Date: 5/22/2025 at 09:11:09
**Biography of Robert Maurice Bridie (1915–1941)**
*Seaman First Class, USS Arizona*Robert Maurice Bridie was born on October 4, 1915, in the small town of Jasper, nestled in the heartland of Iowa. His early life was shaped by the values of Midwestern perseverance and a close-knit community. The son of Dave Bridie and Jennie McCurnin Bridie, Robert was raised in Colfax and Washington townships in Jasper County.
In the 1920 United States Census, young Robert—just four years old—was living with his father, Dave (Dane) Bridie, in Colfax. By 1925, after what may have been the loss or separation of his parents, he was listed in the state census as living with his mother Jennie Bridie, a pattern that continued in the 1930 and 1940 federal censuses. He remained a devoted son, residing with his mother into his early twenties. These records suggest a stable, though modest, upbringing during a time marked by both the prosperity of the Roaring Twenties and the hardships of the Great Depression.
Robert came of age in an America slowly recovering from economic strife and beginning to reckon with the growing tensions of a world at war. With patriotism and a desire to serve his country, Robert enlisted in the United States Navy. Assigned to the USS *Arizona*—a Pennsylvania-class battleship launched in 1915 and named in honor of the 48th state—Robert became part of one of the Navy’s most storied vessels.
The USS *Arizona* served as a symbol of American naval power during the interwar period. She was stationed at Pearl Harbor in the Territory of Hawaii by the early 1940s as tensions escalated with Imperial Japan. Just months before the infamous attack, Robert found joy amid the looming uncertainty—on June 24, 1941, he married Thelma Barbour in Long Beach, California. The marriage occurred during a brief two-week respite while the *Arizona* was anchored nearby, a fleeting but precious moment of peace and personal happiness before the storm to come.
On the morning of December 7, 1941, tragedy struck. Japanese forces launched a surprise military strike on Pearl Harbor, aiming to cripple the U.S. Pacific Fleet and secure Japan’s imperial expansion. The USS *Arizona* took four direct hits from aerial bombs. One detonated in a forward ammunition magazine, causing a catastrophic explosion that ripped the ship apart and killed 1,177 of her crew almost instantly—including Seaman First Class Robert Maurice Bridie. He was just 26 years old.
The loss of Robert Bridie was part of the broader national trauma that propelled the United States into World War II. Yet for his family—especially his mother Jennie, and his young widow Thelma—it was deeply personal. Though his body was never recovered, Robert is honored at the USS *Arizona* Memorial and also commemorated at the Honolulu Memorial in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Robert Maurice Bridie's sacrifice is a stark reminder of the cost of war and the valor of those who serve. His name is etched not only in stone but in the annals of American memory, a young Iowan who gave everything in defense of his country.
Robert Bridie
Jasper Biographies maintained by Linda Ziemann.
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