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RM3c Frederick Robert Bircher
Frederick Robert Bircher graduated in 1936 from Olney High School in Philadelphia. He was a violinist in the orchestra and liked to play sandlot baseball.
While recovering in bed from rheumatic fever, he became interested in radios. He attended the Philadelphia School of Wireless from Sept. 1937 to September 1938. He also worked as a radio serviceman at Franklin Electric in Philadelphia.
Mr. Bircher enlisted in the Naval Reserve on Oct. 3, 1940, and was enrolled in a radio school in Connecticut before being put on active duty and assigned to the U.S.S. Arizona. He was a radioman and petty officer third class when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.
Mr. Bircher, born Nov. 1, 1917 in Philadelphia, was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Olney. His father, George Bircher, was a manager at a brass foundry and his mother, Irene Mann Bircher, a homemaker.
Sources: Philadelphia Inquirer; Philadelphia Daily News; Census; Commonwealth of Pennsylvania World War II Veterans’ Compensation Bureau; Navy enlistment records. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.
NOTE: If you are a family member related to this crew member of the U.S.S. Arizona, or have additional information, pictures or documents to share about his life or service to our county please contact us through our FAMILY MEMBER SUBMISSION FORM.