Thomas Leigh Gatch: Difference between revisions
m Robot - Moving category Judge Advocate Generals of the U.S. Navy to Judge Advocates General of the United States Navy per CFD at Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2008 August 20. |
added new link to Thomas Leigh Gatch, Jr. to a book profiling his life |
||
| Line 30: | Line 30: | ||
==Later life and family== |
==Later life and family== |
||
From 1945 to 1947 he served as a trustee at [[George Washington University]].<ref>[http://encyclopedia.gwu.edu/gwencyclopedia/index.php/Board_of_Trustees,_Members Board of Trustees, Members.] George Washington University. Retrieved [[December 19]] [[2007]].</ref> Thomas had one sibling, Orytha.<ref>Howe, Sharon. [http://nwda-db.wsulibs.wsu.edu/findaid/ark:/80444/xv91327 Guide to the Helen Plummer Gatch Photographs Collection 1880-circa 1910.] NWDA. Retrieved [[December 19]] [[2007]].</ref> He would have three children with his wife; Thomas Leigh Gatch, Jr., Nancy, and Eleanor.<ref name=son/> His son Thomas, Jr. would attend the [[United States Army]]’s service academy at [[West Point]].<ref name=son/> After retiring from the Navy Gatch returned to his native Oregon.<ref name=Oregon/> Thomas L. Gatch died on [[December 16]] [[1953]], in [[San Diego, California]], and is buried there at [[Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery]].<ref name=Oregon/><ref>[http://www.interment.net/data/us/ca/sandiego/rosecrans/g/rosecrans%5Fg02.htm Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.] Interment.net. Retrieved [[December 19]] [[2007]].</ref> |
From 1945 to 1947 he served as a trustee at [[George Washington University]].<ref>[http://encyclopedia.gwu.edu/gwencyclopedia/index.php/Board_of_Trustees,_Members Board of Trustees, Members.] George Washington University. Retrieved [[December 19]] [[2007]].</ref> Thomas had one sibling, Orytha.<ref>Howe, Sharon. [http://nwda-db.wsulibs.wsu.edu/findaid/ark:/80444/xv91327 Guide to the Helen Plummer Gatch Photographs Collection 1880-circa 1910.] NWDA. Retrieved [[December 19]] [[2007]].</ref> He would have three children with his wife; [[Thomas Leigh Gatch, Jr.]]<ref>[http://www.justwind.net], Nancy, and Eleanor.<ref name=son/> His son Thomas, Jr. would attend the [[United States Army]]’s service academy at [[West Point]].<ref name=son/> After retiring from the Navy Gatch returned to his native Oregon.<ref name=Oregon/> Thomas L. Gatch died on [[December 16]] [[1953]], in [[San Diego, California]], and is buried there at [[Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery]].<ref name=Oregon/><ref>[http://www.interment.net/data/us/ca/sandiego/rosecrans/g/rosecrans%5Fg02.htm Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.] Interment.net. Retrieved [[December 19]] [[2007]].</ref> |
||
==References== |
==References== |
||
Revision as of 14:55, 11 September 2008
Thomas Leigh Gatch | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/ | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1912–1947 |
| Rank | Rear Admiral |
| Unit | USS South Dakota |
| Commands | Judge Advocate General Atlantic Fleet service force |
| Battles/wars | Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands |
| Awards | Navy Cross (2) Purple Heart |
Thomas Leigh Gatch (1891–1953) was an American naval officer and attorney in the 20th century. A native of Oregon, and grandson of educator Thomas Milton Gatch, he served in the United States Navy as a ship commander during World War II and Judge Advocate General of the Navy from 1943 to 1945. His last command was as commander of the Atlantic Fleet’s service force.
Early life
Thomas L. Gatch was born on August 9 1891, in Salem, Oregon to Claud Gatch and the former Helen Plummer.[1] His grandfather previously was the president of Willamette University in Salem, and both his father and grandfather served as mayor of the town.[1] Thomas began his college career at Oregon Agricultural College where his grandfather served as president from 1897 to 1907.[1] However, in 1912, Thomas L. graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.[1]
Naval career
After college, Thomas spent five years at sea before joining the Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAG) in 1919 in Washington, D.C..[1] In DC, he studied law at George Washington University Law School where in 1922 he earned his law degree.[1] Gatch then went back to active duty aboard a ship, before teaching for three years at the Naval Academy.[1]
In 1935, he returned to the JAG’s headquarters where he remained through 1938.[1] Gatch then returned to sea until 1940.[1] That year he began serving as Assistant Judge Advocate General, keeping that post until February 1942 after World War II began.[1] Gatch then became commander of the USS South Dakota, a South Dakota class battleship.[1] Serving in the South Pacific until December of 1942, he distinguished himself in that role in the Pacific Theater of Operations in battles such as the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands during the Guadalcanal campaign.[1][2][3][4] He received two Navy Crosses for his service.[5]
In 1943 Gatch was invalided to shore duty after being wounded in the South Pacific.[6] Gatch became the 16th Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy.[1][7] He remained in that position until December 3 1945, when he became the commander of the service force of the Atlantic Fleet.[1] Rear Admiral Thomas Leigh Gatch retired from the Navy in 1947.[1]
Later life and family
From 1945 to 1947 he served as a trustee at George Washington University.[8] Thomas had one sibling, Orytha.[9] He would have three children with his wife; Thomas Leigh Gatch, Jr.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.
- ^ 15885 Gatch, Thomas Leigh. West-Point.org. Retrieved December 19 2007.
- ^ Wagons for A.A. Time, Monday, January 11 1943. Retrieved December 19 2007.
- ^ Shalett, Sidney. 1943. Old Nameless: The Epic of a U.S. Battlewagon. New York: D. Appleton-Century Co.
- ^ GATCH, Thomas Leigh. WW2 Awards.com. Retrieved December 19 2007.
- ^ George Meader Oral History
- ^ Judge Advocate General: About Us. United States Navy: Judge Advocate General Corps. Retrieved December 19 2007.
- ^ Board of Trustees, Members. George Washington University. Retrieved December 19 2007.
- ^ Howe, Sharon. Guide to the Helen Plummer Gatch Photographs Collection 1880-circa 1910. NWDA. Retrieved December 19 2007.