This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Daniel L Arnes, CMDCM
to remember
Bouchard, Joseph Samuel, CDR USN(Ret).
If you knew or served with this Sailor and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Contact Info
Home Town Missoula, MT
Last Address Missoula, MT
Date of Passing Mar 12, 2003
Location of Interment Saint Mary Cemetery - Missoula, Montana
Obituary:
JOSEPH S. BOUCHARD
MISSOULA -- Joseph Samuel Bouchard died on March 12, 2003, at St. Patrick Hospital here. Joe was born Aug. 8, 1927, to Joseph A. and Cynthia "Toots" Bouchard in Missoula and raised in Bonner. He attended Bonner Elementary School and graduated from Missoula County High School in 1944. In August 1944, he enlisted in the Navy and served as a gunner's mate on the USS LST 810 in the Pacific during World War II. After the war, Joe converted to aviation metalsmith. From March 1948 to December 1949, he was stationed at a Navy airfield near Shanghai, China. He participated in the evacuation of Americans from Manchuria and other areas in China during the Chinese Civil War. From 1950 to 1956, Joe served in various Navy transport aircraft squadrons and participated in the Korean War. In January 1952, Joe married Grace Ellen Hanson of Redstone. From 1952 to 1957, they were stationed in Pensacola, Fla., and Hutchinson, Kan. In 1957, they were transferred to Moffett Field, Calif., where Joe was promoted to ensign as an aviation maintenance officer. From 1958 to 1967, they were stationed in Brunswick, Maine; Quonset Point, R.I.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and again in Quonset Point. During these tours, Joe served as maintenance officer in Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 11 and as officer in charge of the naval aviation radiography school. In April 1967, Joe was assigned to Helicopter Attack Squadron (light) III (the Seawolves) in Vinh Long, Vietnam. He earned a battlefield promotion to lieutenant commander and was awarded the Bronze Star medal with a combat "V" for valor during the Tet offensive in February 1968. On the first night of the Tet offensive, Joe, with only two men, defended a Catholic orphanage with 130 children and eight nuns from Viet Cong attack until they could be evacuated the next day. In June 1968, Joe returned from Vietnam to duty on the Commander Naval Air Force Pacific Fleet staff in San Diego. From 1970 to 1973, he was assigned to Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron I in Atsugi, Japan, and Agana, Guam. During this tour, he was promoted to commander. His final assignment on active duty was as aircraft maintenance officer at the Pacific Missile Test Center, Naval Air Station, Point Mugu, Calif. He retired from the Navy on May 31, 1976, with 32 years active service. Joe returned to Missoula and served from 1977 to 1982 as a Missoula County Deputy Sheriff. He later worked for several years at the Hunting Shack in Missoula. Joe was a member of the Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the Veterans Warrior Society. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion and was active in veterans affairs. He was an avid hunter, fisherman, gun and cartridge collector and reloader. He was a member of the National Rifle Association. He was a supporter of the Museum of Mountain Flying and the Fort Missoula Historical Museum. Joe is survived by his son, Joseph F. Bouchard, captain, U.S. Navy, and his wife, Rita, and daughter, Ellen (Washington, D.C.); his son, Daniel J. Bouchard, and his fiancee, Jackie, and son, Evan (Atlanta); his daughter, Cynthia Christina, and her husband, Wallace, and children, Tara and Michael (Missoula); two brothers, Charles Patrick Bouchard (Polson) and John Sandford Bouchard (West Linn, OR); and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Grace, and his brother, Michael, a Navy pilot who was shot down and declared missing in action in 1968. A graveside service was held March 15 at St. Mary's Cemetery in Missoula. A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date. Gifts may be made in Joe's name to the Maryknoll Fathers or the American Cancer Society.
Vietnam War/Counteroffensive Phase III Campaign (67-68)
From Month/Year
June / 1967
To Month/Year
January / 1968
Description This Campaign period was from 1 June 1967 to 29 January 1968. By mid-1967, the Navy's Military Sea Transportation Service operated a fleet of 527 reactivated World War II Reserve Fleet ships and chartered vessels under U.S. and foreign registry. Throughout this period, MSTS shipping carried over 40,000 U.S. and allied combat and support troops to South Vietnam. The allied requirements for transportation were passed from MSTS representatives in the ports of Danang, Chu Lai, Qui Nhon, Nha Trang, Cam Ranh, Vung Tau, Phan Rang, and Vung Ro through the MSTS office in Saigon to the MSTS Far East, headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and finally to Commander MSTS in the United States. Many types of vessels sailed in the MSTS fleet, including converted escort carriers Core, Card, Point Cruz (T-AKV 19), and Kula Gulf (T-AKV 8), which served as aircraft ferries. Corpus Christi Bay (T-ARVH 1), formerly seaplane tender Albermarle (AV 5), operated as a helicopter repair ship for the Army. In addition to the great number of standard cargo hulls, the service operated ships that carried cargo stowed in easily handled containers and new roll-on/roll-off ships that could quickly load and unload vehicles through rear or side ports. Arriving at Danang on 1 August 1967, Bienville was the first such container vessel to reach South Vietnam. Fuel tankers included the 190,000-barrel capacity Maumee (T-AO 149), the 140,000-barrel Cache (T-AO 67), and the 30,000-barrel Chattahoochee (T-AOG 82), the latter of which was used for storage and shuttle services in-country.
MSTS also controlled as many as 16 troop transports in the Pacific during the buildup of forces in South Vietnam. A fleet of LSTs, the number of which increased from 17 to 42 by mid-1968, handled cargo shuttling along the coast. In-port lighterage and terminal duties were accomplished by the MSTS-contracted Alaska Barge and Transport Company, which operated 19 tugs and 33 barges. The total MSTS effort ensured that the 550,000-man U.S. contingent in South Vietnam was well supplied, armed, and prepared to stay in the battle against the determined enemy.
Naval Support Activity, Saigon, which the Navy activated on 17 May 1966, two days after HSAS ceased operations, was charged with providing logistic support to naval units in the II, III, and IV Corps Tactical Zones. The newly created NAVFORV directed the operations of NSA Saigon. The support activity supplied the Navy's Coastal Surveillance Force, River Patrol Force, Riverine Assault Force, and the various specialized headquarters, offices, and detachments operating in the three southern corps areas. NSA Saigon provided the commands with ammunition, weapons, and communications equipment; transported cargo and personnel; repaired and maintained ships and craft; stocked spare parts; and built bases and facilities. Finally, NSA saw to the quartering, messing, payroll, and recreational needs of the naval officers and enlisted personnel in Vietnam.
The Saigon activity developed subordinate support bases for the combat forces similar to those of NSA Danang's. NSA Saigon detachments at Qui Nhon, Nha Trang, Cam Ranh Bay, An Thoi, Cat Lo, and Vung Tau primarily served the Market Time operation, although the last two bases were home to other naval combat units as well. The concentration of the Task Force 115 headquarters, naval air units, and other large contingents at Cam Ranh Bay required greater command authority and logistic resources. As a result, in September 1967, NSA Saigon upgraded the detachment to the Naval Support Facility, Cam Ranh Bay. Detachments were also established at Can Tho (and later moved to nearby Binh Thuy), Nha Be, Vinh Long, Sa Dec, My Tho, Tan Chau, and Long Xuyen. These units saw to the special needs of the Task Force 116 PBR commands. The Naval Support Activity, Saigon, Detachment Dong Tam, supplied only the Mobile Riverine Force naval units.