Robert Thatcher

Birthplace: Tempe, Arizona

Branch of Service: Army Air Corps

Unit: 15th AF, 455th Bomb Group

Theater of Operation: European

Military Honors: Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, European Theater Ribbon with 3 Bronze Stars and Silver Star for the Air Offensive Europe

Honored By: Sally Smith Thatcher

Robert Louis Thatcher, a Dana Point, California, resident, passed away quietly at 90 years of age on August 18, 2012. Born April 21, 1922, in Tempe, Arizona, he served as a B-24 Squadron Leader, Group Commander, and Assistant Operations Officer with the 15th Air Force, 455th Bomb Group, 742nd Squadron in Italy. He was severely wounded during his 19th mission over Augsburg, Germany, and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, European Theater Ribbon with 3 Bronze Stars and Silver Star for the Air Offensive Europe, Air Combat Balkans and Rome-Arno campaigns.

Following his discharge, he received his bachelor’s and juris doctorate degrees from the University of Southern California. As a prominent Newport Beach attorney, he developed a successful practice while owning a cattle ranching operation in Northern California and Oregon with his wife, Sally Smith Thatcher.

He was survived by his wife of 48 years, Sally Smith Thatcher, along with his son, Jeffrey Thatcher and two other grandsons from his daughter, Wendy Thatcher Mabile, who preceded him in death.