James B. Birtch, LT, USNSkipper from 16 FEB 1949 - 6 NOV 1950 James Bruce Birtch - - born in June 1910 - had a very interesting life. As a young boy he worked with his father raising Clydesdale horses. His father was killed by a horse in 1924. Times were hard so at the age of 16 James joined the U. S. Navy on 6 May 1926. Shortly after his basic training he was sent to China for duty. During his 6 years in China he was assigned the ship USS Pigeon (ASR-6), which was patrolling the Yangtze River. He described it as ‘fantastic duty’. By the time World War Two started, he already had a lot of ship experience . . and being a Boatswains Mate, he went up the ladder quite fast. He evidently didn’t spend his leisure time for naught because he stated that he had taken Naval College Correspondent Courses for several years before receiving a BA Degree and then was appointed to the officer ranks in 1943. However, after World War Two began he served on several ships and in 1942, he was aboard one of the ships involved in the battle of Midway Island. In 1944, he got his first appointment as the Commanding Officer .. of the USS Matea, (a sea-going tug). In 1947, he took part in the atomic bomb test at Becina Island in the South Pacific, where a bomb was dropped from the air and another was ignited from the bottom of the ocean - a distance of about 70 feet). During his 30 years of naval service he was commanding officer of 5 different Naval Ships. The last of which was the USS Mulberry, (a net tender). Captain James Bruce Birtch passed away in September 2002NEVER TO SAIL THE ROUGH SEAS AGAIN

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