Henry J. Bultman, Jr.

“Pop Pop, as he was known to his nine grandchildren, was a great man. He was a father, a son, a husband, an engineer, a former mayor, a grandfather and great-grandfather. One memory that sums up his love and spirit happened the summer before he died in 2015. My son, Henry, was two years old, and my daughter, Lulu, was four years old. We visited Mimi and Pop Pop in their home in Lakewood, near the New Jersey shore. When we got there, they had put toys out on the floor for Henry and Lulu to play with. Pop Pop plopped on the floor right there with little Henry and Lulu to play with them — crawling on hands and knees and everything. He played cars and dolls with Henry and Lulu all the time with a big smile on his face. Nevermind his hip replacement or 95-year-old bones — Pop Pop loved his great-grandchildren. For all his accomplishments in life, he was able to appreciate the joy of children. He was sweet and strong, funny and serious. He was a model of how to live a happy, meaningful life. Thank you, Pop Pop.”

– Scott Gartlan, Executive Director, Charlotte Teachers Institute

Henry Bultman, as remembered by his grandson Scott Gartlan

Naval engineer Henry Bultman survived the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Henry J. Bultman, Jr., graduated from Tulane University with a degree in chemical engineering, and immediately, on June 14, 1941, he entered the U.S. Navy Reserves. He served as a chemical engineer, 8th Naval District. He was transferred to Pasadena, California, where he received training in aeronautical engineering at California Institute of Technology.

Following his training, he was stationed at Ford Island Naval Air Station (NAS), in the middle of Pearl Harbor. As a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Naval Air Systems Command, Bultman was assigned to the Assembly and Repair and Accessory Division, which was responsible for plane instrumentation, oxygen and other systems.

Bultman survived the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. During the attack, as he drove to his battle station along “Battleship Row,” along the southern end of Ford Island, he witnessed devastation: “As we went by, the Arizona [BB-39] blew, and we saw metal flying.”

Bultman’s initial duty was to deploy crews to move bullet-riddled, gas-soaked planes out of and away from the bombed and burning hangars. Later, he was assigned to assist with injured sailors in the Mess Hall, being used as a makeshift hospital.

Bultman went on to serve in the Pacific Theater where he trained pilots on the use/maintenance of new Fluxgate Compass System. His deployments included MARGIL Command, June 15, 1942, Marshall Islands; Kanehoe NAS, 1942, Territory Hawaii; Pensacola NAS, March 1, 1943, Pensacola, Florida; and finally, he finished his active duty at Lakehurst NAS, 1945, New Jersey. He attained the rank of commander, USNR.