Private First Class Bardwell was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. He was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy in Korea on 8 April 1953. He was presumed dead on 8 April 1954. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Bardwell was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.