Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1958 Lucky Bag:

MONTE D'ARMAND

After a year and a half of college in sunny Florida, Monte bade farewell to the luxuries of life and came north to begin in a new area. With a wide background of knowledge picked up from his pre-USNAY experiences, he was a man fit to comment sagely on any and all matters. Although the books caused him to lose a hair or two, he always came through with plenty to spare. His dealings with the distaff side showed that here indeed was a true Frenchman. Monte loved to brag about the many virtues of the Sunshine State and hopes to get duty there after winning his dolphins.

Loss

Monte was lost on May 9, 1969 when the aircraft he was piloting was forced to ditch shortly after taking off from USS Wasp (CV 18), approximately 300 miles from Portugal.

Other Information

From Find A Grave:

Monte, a native of Clearwater, Florida, was the son of Louis and Lyda Clark D’Armand. A graduate of Clearwater High School, class of 1952, Monte was appointed to the United States Naval Academy and graduated with the class of 1958. Upon graduation from USNA Monte chose Naval Aviation and piloted the latest of the Navy’s anti-submarine aircraft. During a cruise aboard an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean in 1969, Monte’s aircraft experienced some damage when launched from the carrier and was forced to ditch in the sea shortly after launching. All of the aircraft’s crew, except Monte, were able to exit the plane and be recovered. Monte is survived by his wife Tanya Heaps D’Armand and son Gregory L. D’Armand.

From the Tampa Bay Times on May 10, 1969:

Lt. Cmdr. Monte D’ Armand, USN, 34, formerly of Clearwater, was killed Wednesday in the crash of a plane from a carrier about 300 miles off the coast of Portugal.

D’Armand was one of four men aboard an S2E tracker aircraft which crashed shortly after takeoff from the USS Wasp near the Canary Islands in the Atlantic. A Navy spokesman said the plane crashed after it started a routine training mission “in adverse weather conditions.” Helicopters and Navy ships were sent to the scene but the bodies still were unrecovered yesterday.

THE WASP, which has taken part in several recovery missions for U.S. astronauts, had left Quonset Point, R.I., April 1 for a series of training missions in the Atlantic. Flying with D’Armand in the wrecked aircraft were Lt. (j.g.) David H. Baird of Lompoc, Calif., PO 1C Sherwood Serfass of Pen Argyle, Pa., and PO 2C Joseph E. Cough of Gardiner, Maine. Officials said all were married and their wives live in the Quonset area.

D’ARMAND WAS born in Tampa and came to Clearwater with his family in 1940. He was graduated from Clearwater High School in 1952 and attended St. Petersburg Junior College before his appointment in 1954 to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.

He was graduated from the academy in 1958 and took flight training at Pensacola, receiving his Naval wings in 1959. He also attended the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, Calif. In 1966-67 he was stationed at Key West. His position aboard the Wasp was maintenance officer of Antisubmarine Squadron 22.

SURVIVORS ARE his wife, the former Tanya Heaps of Clearwater, and a son, Gregory, both of Quonset; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Louis D’Armand of Clearwater; a brother, William Dearmand, and a sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Decker, both of New York City.

Memorial services will be held Monday at the base chapel in Quonset.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Monte graduated from Clearwater High School in 1952. Activities: Football manager ’50, ’51, ’52; Basketball manager ’51, ’52; May Time ’51; Los Gauchos ’51, ’52; C-Club ’52; DeMolay ’51, ’52.

In May 1952, Monte was part of a dance team in the high school operetta “Isadora.” He also was one of the sailors in the operetta written by classmates. “The operetta is in two acts and five scenes. The first act starts in Norfolk on a Sunday morning, continues in its second scene in Miami a week later, and speeds on to sea. The second act opens a week later on an island and closes in the same setting the following day.

In March 1953, Monte was part of a dance team that performed the minuet in the “Spring Fantasy” at Clearwater High School.

In May 1953, Monte again was part of a dance team that performed an Apache dance at the Bowery Ball presented by the Sigma Phi Sigma men’s social club of St. Petersburg Junior College.

In February 1954, Monte was named a second alternate to the Naval Academy by Congressman Courtney Campbell.

Monte married Tanya Heaps in 1958 in Pensacola, Florida.

In May 1962, Monte was stationed at Quonset, Rhode Island. He recently was aboard the U.S. Carrier WASP which was docked at Kiev. He flew to West Berlin via Tempelhof Airport. He took a Polaroid of an army officer then and handed the stunned officer the finished print in 10 seconds.

He has a memory marker in Arlington National Cemetery.

Photographs

From his 1952 high school yearbook

From his junior college yearbook in 1953

Remembrances

To my friend at Clearwater High, and my shipmate at USNA. We all did our duty, and God called some of us home early. I remember our good times, both at USNA and on leave. You are always in my thoughts. God Bless til we meet again. Frank Parker

Family

Monte’s wife, Tanya, was the treasurer of the Officers Wives Club of the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1964 when Monte was there as a Lieutenant. She was profiled in The Classmate, the organization’s magazine, in the October 1964 edition. Mentioned was their son Gregg, who was then 4 years old.

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Christopher Wilhelmy ‘58 was also in 20th Company.