More detail on this person: Joseph Samuel
Bouchard of Missoula, 75, retired commander, U.S.
Navy, passed away Wednesday, March 12, 2003,
at St. Patrick Hospital.
Joe was born Aug. 8, 1927, to Joseph A. and
Cynthia 3Toots˛ 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 gunner1s 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 3V˛
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 The Hunting Shack
in Missoula.
Joe was a member of the Confederated Salish and
Kootenai Tribes and the 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, wife, Rita, and daughter,
Ellen, of Washington, D.C.; his son, Daniel J.
Bouchard, fiancee, Jackie, and son, Evan, of
Atlanta; his daughter, Cynthia Christina, husband,
Wallace, and children, Tara and Michael, of
Missoula; his brother, Charles Patrick Bouchard of
Polson; his brother, John Sandford Bouchard of
West Linn, Ore.; 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 will be held at 11 a.m.
Saturday at St. Mary1s Cemetery in Missoula. A
memorial service will be scheduled at a later
date.
Burial information: St. Mary1s Cemetery, Missoula
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 05/13/2023
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