Destroyer Escort Photo Index DE- 197 USS ROCHE (original) (raw)

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[](helpers/WWII Emblem, VT-3.jpg)

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David John Roche was born in Hibbing, Minn. on 02 December 1918 and enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve as seaman second class on 13 November 1939. He was appointed aviation cadet effective 15 February 1940, designated naval aviator (heavier-than-air), 14 October, and became an ensign, USNR, effective 21 October 1940. Following training at the Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., he was assigned to Torpedo Squadron 3 and reported for duty on 01 December. He was officially reported missing in action as of 04 June 1942, when the plane he was piloting was shot down in the Battle of Midway. For pressing home his torpedo attack on Japanese naval units in the face of tremendous antiaircraft fire and overwhelming fighter opposition, he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

USS Roche (DE 197) (1944-1945) was the first ship to be named in his honor.

(U.S. Navy photo #NH 95554 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)

Bill Gonyo
Downey, Cal.

Assoc. Researcher
Navsource

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On 29 September 1945 while escorting USS Florence Nightingale (AP 70) to Tokyo, USS Roche caught a mine that twisted her stern and rudder with casualties. These two shots were viewed from USS Parker (DD 604), which started a tow, but was relieved in a few hours by USS ATR 35. All four ships were in anchorages in a day.

John Chiquoine
West Chester, Pa.