ALPHONSE M. MINVIELLE, CDR, USN

Alphonse Minvielle '38

Date of birth: August 8, 1914

Date of death: February 3, 1949

Age: 34

Lucky Bag

From the 1938 Lucky Bag:

ALPHONSE MINVIELLE

San Leandro, California

Minnie, Al

Coming straight from sun-kissed California without the assistance of a prep school, Minnie has always demonstrated the ability of being able to solve his problems by depending upon himself. Blessed with an extra share of muscle, he has done his part for the honor of Navy in athletics, working day after day on the football squad in the fall, throwing the heaviest wrestlers around the ring in the winter, and wielding a lacrosse stick in the spring. French being his native tongue, he couldn't understand the difficulty the rest of us had with Dago; small wonder he was popular with those who didn't come by it so naturally. Friendly, unselfish, working hard but unobtrusively, Minnie is a shipmate who can be depended upon to pull his full share of the load. He is an ideal roommate and a loyal friend.

Football 4, 3, 2, 1, NA; Wrestling 4, 3, 2, 1, NA; Lacrosse 4, 3, 2, 1, NA; M.P.O.

ALPHONSE MINVIELLE

San Leandro, California

Minnie, Al

Coming straight from sun-kissed California without the assistance of a prep school, Minnie has always demonstrated the ability of being able to solve his problems by depending upon himself. Blessed with an extra share of muscle, he has done his part for the honor of Navy in athletics, working day after day on the football squad in the fall, throwing the heaviest wrestlers around the ring in the winter, and wielding a lacrosse stick in the spring. French being his native tongue, he couldn't understand the difficulty the rest of us had with Dago; small wonder he was popular with those who didn't come by it so naturally. Friendly, unselfish, working hard but unobtrusively, Minnie is a shipmate who can be depended upon to pull his full share of the load. He is an ideal roommate and a loyal friend.

Football 4, 3, 2, 1, NA; Wrestling 4, 3, 2, 1, NA; Lacrosse 4, 3, 2, 1, NA; M.P.O.

Loss & Obituary

From Find A Grave:

Lieutenant (Junior Grade) A. M. Minvielle, USN was designated Naval Aviator #7063 in 1941. Graduated U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1938.
"U.S. Navy Commander A. Minvielle (pilot), U.S. Navy Reserve Lieutenant (junior grade) Charles Matus (co-pilot), Civil Service Dr. J.K.L. McDonald, Civil Service Dr. John McKinley, Civil Service employee Mr. Myron G. Kellogg, Civil Service employee Mr. Rodney Morrin and Civil Service employee Mr. Joseph Vargus lost their lives when their JRB-4 Expeditor (BuNo 90550) crashed in the Sierras. The wreckage was found 21 April 1949 near Owens Peak."
Commander Minvielle was married to the former Miss Eleanor Dawson of Portland, Maine. They had four children.

From the North Adams Transcript on February 5, 1949

Seven Aboard Missing Plane Thickening Weather Threatens to Hamper Search in California.
Inyokern, Calif. Feb. 5 (AP)--Thickening weather threatened today to hamper an aerial search for a plane missing for two days from the navy weapons testing ground near here. It carried seven men, five of them civilian scientists. More than 100 planes combed the Fresno-Bakersfield-Inyokern area, where it was learned the plane might have landed shortly after it left the Inyokern airport at 6:30 a.m. Thursday. Fifteen minutes later it was reported at 10,000 feet over Walker's Pass, 50 miles from the field.
There was no further word from the plane but one report told of a plane being heard in a snowstorm about the same time. Jim Jorgensen, a mine superintendent, also told of hearing cries for help from his cabin in the densely wooded Kern Reiver canyon, but he was unable to determine their direction. Ten relief pilots were sent from Eleventh Naval district headquarters in San Diego last night, and ground parties and mobile equipment moved into the area from Isabella, a few miles south of Kernville, where the army set up a communications unit.
Pilot of the missing plane is Alphonse Minvielle, believe to be from San Francisco, and the co-pilot is Lieut. (JG) Charles V. Mathias, 27, Pittsburgh, Pa. The five scientists aboard enroute to Berkeley for a conference of the American Physical society are Dr. F.K.L. MacDonald of Stanley, Nova Scotia; Dr. John J. McKinley, Brighton, Calif.; Myron G. Kellogg, Santa Rosa, Calif.; Rodney Morrin, Waterman, Calif.; and Joseph A. Vargus, explosives division, Inyokern testing grounds.

From the Portland Press Herald on April 23, 1949:

Husband Of Local Woman Plane Victim
Minvielle, 6 Others Found In Wreckage
The pilot of a navy transport plane, husband of a Portland woman, his co-pilot and five scientists were found dead Friday in the wreckage of the plane, which crashed In California's Sierra Nevada mountain range Feb. 3, the navy announced. The pilot was Comdr. Alphonse Minvielle of San Francisco, husband of the former Eleanor Dawson of 548 Stevens Avenue. They have four children.
The navy reported a ground party had reached the plane 17 miles from the town of Inyokern In Kern County. Calif, and was readying, according to the Associated Press, to bring down the bodies. The wreckage was at the 7.000-foot level near Owens Peak. The scientists were enroute from Inyokern to a scientific meeting at Berkeley.
They were Dr. F. K. L. MacDonald, Stanley, Nova Scotia. Dr. John H. McKinley, Brighton, Calif; Myron O. Kellogg. Santa Rosa, Calif : Rodney Morrin Waterman. Calif., and Joseph A. Vargus, Inyokern. The co-pilot of the two-engine plane was Lt (jg) C. L Mathis, Pittsburgh, Pa. The wreck was discovered Thursday by an air force reserve officer piloting an AT-6. The plane apparently had been covered by heavy snow which melted this week.

Wartime Service

Alphonse was commanding officer of Night Fighting Squadron (VF(N)) 91 from October 5, 1944 — unclear when he was relieved, but it appears he served through the end of the war. The squadron flew from USS Bon Homme Richard (CV 31) and was credited with 9 confirmed and 2 probable air-to-air victories.

On May 16, 1945, his F6F-5N Hellcat crashed near Pearl Harbor.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Alphonse’s wife was Eleanor Dawson Minvielle, sons James A., Peter M., and Paul, and daughter Aline. His brothers were Lawrence and John, and sister Mrs. (Mary Jane) Carl Hunt. In 1920, his father Bernard was a laundry machinist, and his mother Rose was a hotel chambermaid. His parents and brother Lawrence immigrated from France to California right before Alphonse was born.
In the 1950 and 1960s, Alphonse’s wife taught school at St. Joseph’s Academy and Cathedral High School in Portland, Maine. She taught Religion and English and guided the National Honor Society and Civics Club.

From Legacy.com:

PORTLAND -- Eleanor Dawson Minvielle died at St. Joseph's Rehabilitation and Residence on June 9, 2012, surrounded by her children.
The first child of Eleanor Ross Dawson and James W. Dawson, Eleanor was born on the 13th of June 1922, at home on Winter Street. Not long thereafter the family moved to Stevens Avenue, near Deering Center.
Eleanor was one of those Portland residents who received all or most of her formal education on Stevens Avenue, from primary school through to college. For Eleanor this meant St. Joseph's Grammar School, St. Joseph's Academy (H.S.) and finally St. Joseph's College, having been a member of the Walton Street Society (alumnae of Our Lady of Mercy) before the College moved to Standish.
During World War II and while not yet done with her college studies, Eleanor was introduced to a U.S. Naval Academy graduate from San Francisco, who was a pilot on the aircraft carrier USS Wasp temporarily in Casco Bay. After several flights to Portland and a few dips of the wings over Baxter Woods, LT Alphonse M. Minvielle and Eleanor were married at St. Joseph's Church (Stevens Avenue) on a cold, blustery October (1942) day during a hastily arranged military leave. Home thereafter were bases in Florida, Virginia and California. Along came children one through four in rapid succession.
Then the unthinkable tragedy. While Commander Minvielle had survived several days floating in the Pacific after his ship had been torpedoed, he did not survive his own plane's crash in the desert mountains of Southern California early in 1949.
Soon the young mother and her very young children returned to Portland to be with family. Even then Eleanor was a strong proponent of God, country and family. (All four of her children served in the military.) She definitely liked the idea that her generation was 'the greatest generation.' When her youngest child was not yet done with grammar school, 'Mrs. Minvielle' returned to finish her degree requirements and subsequently spent over two decades teaching English, Social Studies, and Religion at Cathedral High School and Catherine McAuley High School.
Whether raising her children, teaching school, volunteering, or even enjoying such simple pleasures as sending/receiving greeting cards, working crossword puzzles, spotting rainbows, playing bingo or just keeping track of people and events, Eleanor always seemed to draw her strength and to muster her energy from God, country and family, as did (still do) many of her generation.

Alphonse is buried in California.

Career

From naval aviation historian Richard Leonard via email on February 9, 2018:

NAS Pensacola attached for HTA flight training, 6/24/1940

NAS Pensacola designated NA # 7063, 1/24/1941

Date of rank LTJG from 1 Jul 1941 USN Register, 6/2/1941

Date of rank LT from 1 Jul 1942 USN Register, 6/15/1942

Date of rank LCDR from 1 Jul 1944 USN Register, 3/1/1944

Date of rank LCDR confirmed in 15 Sep 1945 VF(N) 91 roster

VF(N) 91 (CO) NAAF Charlestown attached, 10/5/1944

VF(N) 91 USS Bon Homme Richard (CV 31), 5/16/1945

VF(N) 91 (CO) USS Bon Homme Richard (CV 31), 9/15/1945

Memorial

From China Lake Alumni:

NAF sailors begin the construction of the on-site recreation area that will later be dedicated to the memory of Cdr. Alphonse Minvielle, USN, who was lost in a 1948 aircraft accident; Minvielle Park (a.k.a. “NAF pool” and “Miniville”) will be expanded over the years—by SEABEE-supported “self-help” projects—to include a large pool, lawns and trees, and other amenities.

Note

Alphonse's name wasn't added to Memorial Hall until November 2017.

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.