Lieutenant j.g Joseph John Bloch, USN

  2. Aggies to Recall
  3. World War II
  4. Lieutenant j.g Joseph John Bloch, USN

Air Medal

Joseph John Bloch was born April 12, 1917 in Allentown Pennsylvania to Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bloch. His father was a laborer in a steel mill. He was the third of four sons. After graduating from Har-Brock HS in Brackenridge Pennsylvania, he attended College of Marshall from 1937 to 1939. In the fall of 1939 he enrolled at NMAMAC. In May 1941 he left the college and returned home where he subsequently enlisted in the US Navy and volunteered for flight duty. In April 1942, just after receiving his commission and wings as a naval aviator in San Diego he wed his college sweetheart, Jeanne Baker. He was subsequently trained in the SBD--3 Dauntless, the navy’s scout bomber of choice at that time and then assigned to Air Group Ten. The group boarded the USS Enterprise in October 1942. Over the course of the next ten months the air wing and carrier group would engage in several important actions in the southwest pacific. These included the Battle of Santa Cruz, (Oct 26, 1942), the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (Nov 12-15, 1942) and the Battle of Rennel Island (Jan 29-30, 1943). Joe received the Air Medal for bravery during the naval battle of Guadalcanal where he is credited with sinking a Japanese transport. By May 1943 the situation in the theater allowed the USS Enterprise to return stateside for retrofit.

Lieutenant j.g Joseph John Bloch, USN
It was during this time that Joe was given 30 day leave and returned to Las Cruces where his wife taught music in the local high school.  Sometime after his leave Joe returned to Hawaii to prepare for the second deployment of Air Group Ten.  On Saturday, December 4, 1943, Joe and his radioman, Gene Riddle took off on a simulated night attack as part of a group of aircraft.  At 5:45 his plane was seen to weave perceptibly as if it were going out of control.  His plane was last seen going lower and lower until it was lost from view. Despite a search by over 50 planes, his plane was never seen or heard from again.  Today he is memorialized on the Tablet of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial Cemetery.  Jeanne Marie Baker Bloch subsequently enlisted in the Women Marines on February 1, 1944 and worked as a trainer on Link Simulators for pilots in training.  Joseph John Bloch was 26 years of age at the time of his death.