During the subsequent fighting, the "South Dakota" suffered significant casualties, among them Gatch. Gatch was injured by shell splinters when the bridge of the "South Dakota" was struck by shells from the "Kirishima". In 1943 Gatch was invalided to shore duty, officially due to his wounds. Gatch became the 16th Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy. He remained in that position until December 3, 1945, when he became the commander of the service force of the Atlantic Fleet. Vice Admiral Thomas Leigh Gatch retired from the Navy in 1947. From 1945 to 1947 he served as a trustee at George Washington University. Thomas had one sibling, Orytha. He would have three children with his wife; Thomas Leigh Gatch, Jr., Nancy, and Eleanor. His son Thomas, Jr. attended the United States Army’s service academy at West Point and disappeared in 1974, whilst attempting the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by balloon. (See Light Heart) After retiring from the Navy, Gatch returned to his native Oregon. Thomas L. Gatch died on December 16, 1954, in San Diego, California, and is buried there at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.