Thomas Leigh Gatch (August 9, 1891 – December 16, 1954) was an American naval officer and attorney in the 20th century. A native of Oregon, and grandson of educator

Thomas Milton Gatch Thomas Milton Gatch (January 28, 1833 – April 22, 1913) was an American pioneer educator on the Pacific Coast. He served one term as mayor of Salem, Oregon, was the president of what would become Oregon State University, served as president ...

, he served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as a ship commander during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and

Judge Advocate General of the Navy The judge advocate general of the Navy (JAG) is the highest-ranking uniformed lawyer in the United States Department of the Navy. The judge advocate general is the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of the Navy, secretary of the Nav ...

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 Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

to Claude Gatch and Helen Plummer.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. His grandfather had been the president of

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

in Salem, and both his father and grandfather served as mayor of the town. From 1906 to 1908, Thomas began his college career at

Oregon Agricultural College Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

where his grandfather served as president from 1897 to 1907. However he later transferred to the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

and graduated in 1912.

Naval career

After college, Gatch spent five years at sea before joining the Navy's Judge Advocate General's Office (JAG) in 1919 in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In D.C., he studied law at

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...

where in 1922 he earned his LL.B. degree. Gatch then went back to active duty aboard a ship, before teaching for three years at the Naval Academy. In 1927, he attended the junior course at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

. In 1935, Gatch returned to the JAG's headquarters where he remained through 1938. He then returned to sea until 1940. Gatch was promoted to captain on July 1, 1939. In 1940, he began serving as Assistant Judge Advocate General, keeping that post until February 1942 after

began. Gatch then became commander of the , a battleship. Serving in the South Pacific until December 1942, commanding the ''South Dakota'' in the Pacific Theater of Operations in battles such as the

Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, fought during 25–27 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or Third Battle of Solomon Sea, in Japan as the Battle of the South Pacific ( ''Minamitaiheiyō kaisen''), was the fourt ...

during the

Guadalcanal campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allies of World War II, Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during th ...

.15885 Gatch, Thomas Leigh Jr. (son)
West-Point.org. Retrieved March 29, 2011. He received two

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

es for his service. Gatch's time in command was not without controversy. He was, correctly or incorrectly, blamed for a number of incidents involving his command; the grounding of his ship in

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

in mid-1942, his collision with the destroyer in late 1942, and the inclusion in his crew of a 12-year-old boy -

Calvin Graham Calvin Leon Graham (April 3, 1930 – November 6, 1992) was the youngest United States military, U.S. serviceman to serve and fight during World War II and was one of the few known Children in the military, child soldiers to fight on behalf of the ...

- who was wounded during the Guadalcanal campaign. While Gatch's time in command was not without victory and success, his reports were often criticized for gross exaggerations of success. Gatch's actions during the

Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal took place from 12 to 15 November 1942 and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles between Allies of World War II, Allied (primarily American) and Imperial Japanese Armed Forces, Imperial Japan ...

included a fateful decision to initially engage the Japanese battleship '' Kirishima'' with his secondary battery only. During the subsequent fighting, the ''South Dakota'' suffered significant casualties, among them Gatch. Gatch was injured by shell splinters when the bridge of the ''South Dakota'' was struck by shells from the ''Kirishima''. In 1943, Gatch was invalided to shore duty, officially due to his wounds. He became the 16th Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy. Gatch was promoted to rear admiral with seniority dating from September 5, 1942. He remained in that position until December 3, 1945, when he became the commander of the service force of the Atlantic Fleet, receiving a promotion to vice admiral seven days later. Vice Admiral Thomas Leigh Gatch retired from the Navy in 1947.

Later life and family

From 1945 to 1947, Gatch served as a trustee at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. Thomas had one sibling, Orytha. Gatch married Nancy Weems Dashiell, a daughter of naval ordnance expert Robert B. Dashiell, in June 1917. They had three children: Thomas Jr., Nancy, and Eleanor. His son attended the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, and disappeared in 1974 whilst attempting the first balloon crossing of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, in the '' Light Heart''. After retiring from the Navy, Gatch returned to his native Oregon where he joined the law firm of Boyd, Ferris & Erwin in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

. Gatch died on December 16, 1954, at the Naval Hospital Balboa in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, and is buried there at

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is a federal United States National Cemetery System, military cemetery in San Diego, California. It is located on the grounds of the former Army coastal artillery station Naval Base Point Loma, Fort Rosecrans a ...

.Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.
Interment.net. Retrieved December 19, 2007.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gatch, Thomas Leigh 1891 births 1954 deaths People from Salem, Oregon Oregon State University alumni United States Naval Academy alumni Military personnel from Oregon United States Navy personnel of World War I George Washington University Law School alumni United States Naval Academy faculty Naval War College alumni United States Navy World War II admirals Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Judge advocates general of the United States Navy United States Navy vice admirals Oregon lawyers Burials at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery