Bridgeford left West Philadelphia High School to enlist in the Army, but later told his brother he felt he should have stayed in school. Before entering the service, he worked as a stock boy and dishwasher. He was a light weapons infantryman assigned to Company C of the 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division. The private first class died in the Mekong Delta Region of Vietnam on Jan. 10, 1968, a week before his 19th birthday. He was survived by his mother, three brothers and two sisters.