Sergeant David J. Thatcher
- First name: | David |
- Middle name: | Jonathan |
- Last name: | Thatcher |
- Nickname: | - |
- Rank Doolittle raid: | Sergeant |
- Last rank: | Staff Sergeant |
- Service number: | 19019573 |
- Date of birth: | 31 July 1921 |
- Place of birth: | Bridger, Montana |
- Date of death: | 22 June 2016 |
- Place of death: | Missoula, Montana |
- Place of the cemetery: | Missoula, Montana |
- Name of the cemetery: | Sunset Memorial Gardens |
Additional info
David J. Thatcher was born on 31 July 1921. He was born in Bridger, Montana as son of Joseph Holland Thatcher and Ella Rose Walters Thatcher. The couple had 10 children. His parents were farmers in Montana. When David J. Thatcher was born, the family was living in a dirt enclosure built into the side of a hill.
His early years were spent attending school and helping his father and brothers make a living for the family. He graduated from Absarokee High School in 1939.
On 22 December 1945, Thatcher married, Margaret Dawn Goddard Thatcher. They were married for 70 years and had five children, Sandy, Gary, Becky, Jeff and Debbie.
Thatcher was the tail gunner-engineer on Crew #7, “The Ruptured Duck,” which was piloted by Ted Lawson. After bombing targets in Tokyo, Lawson headed the plane towards China. Running low on fuel, Lawson tried to land the plane on a beach in darkness and heavy rain, but instead crashed in the surf after hitting a wave causing the plane to flip over.
After regaining consciousness and making it to shore, Thatcher saved the lives of his crew by gathering them on the beach, administering first aid and making contact with some friendly Chinese guerillas who had come upon the crew. He convinced the guerillas to take the crew to safety in inland China.
“I bandaged everyone’s wounds as best I could,” Corporal Thatcher told the military authorities in a report a month later. He said he had used the bandage in his first-aid kit to wrap Lieutenant Lawson’s knee. “I used my handkerchief on the cut on his arm,” he added.
For the pilot’s remaining wounds and those of the other crewmen, he said: “I had to use old dirty rags that the fishermen gave us. I had no choice if I were going to stop their bleeding.”
Thatcher, the only crew member able to walk, joined with Chinese peasants and armed guerrillas to take the four injured airmen on a grueling five-day trek, by land and boat, to a hospital on the mainland, carrying them on stretchers and sedan chairs and managing to evade Japanese troops.
Personal note : I've read a lot about the Doolittle Raid. I would like to add the following text. David Thatcher saved the lives of his fellow crew members and managed to keep them out of Japanese captivity. David was only 20 years old at the time. His courageous behavior as a 20-year-old young man is an example for many young people to never give up in difficult times. In David Thatcher, the American people have a true hero. I have tremendous respect for him and his actions.
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Corporal David J. Thatcher (ASN: 19019573), United States Army Air Forces, for gallantry in action against the enemy while serving with the 1st Special Aviation Project (Doolittle Tokyo Raider Force), subsequent to the raid on Japan, 18 April 1942. His gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army Air Forces.
David J. Thatcher, native Montanan and member of “the Greatest Generation,” died of complications from a stroke on 22 July 2016. He was 94 years old.
See picture below, Dawn, Thatcher's wife of 70 years, received the flag from an Airman presented on behalf of the president of the U.S., the Air Force and a grateful nation for his honorable and faithful service. Copyright@usaf - public domain.
There is a David J. Thatcher VA Clinic in Missoula, Montana.
Diverse group of Montanans honored by memorial highways : By Senate Bill 175, sponsored by Sen. David Howard, R-Park City, established the David Thatcher Memorial Highway in Stillwater County in 2019.
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