Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1944 Lucky Bag:

Malcolm McF. Longinotti

“Ah’m from Mississippi, suh.” Southern, blond and terrific, Longie proved himself a clear thinker, able to concentrate on the job at hand. Aggressive and enthusiastic, he had the inherent thoroughness which instilled confidence in his associates. Second only to the Navy was his interest in music. He loved it, played it and wrote about it. Remember the Log’s “Off the Beat” column? Equally at home on the softball diamond, in the ring, or answering “fan mail,” Malcolm was one of those fellows whom everyone remembered with a “Hi’ Ya’, Longie.” His southern drawl and disarming smile, combined with a pleasing personality, are the source of his usually flawless diplomacy.

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The Class of 1944 was graduated in June 1943 due to World War II. The entirety of 2nd class (junior) year was removed from the curriculum.

Shipmate

From the February 1949 issue of Shipmate:

MALCOM M. LONGINOTTI, (Lt. USN Deceased). It is with deep regret that we record the death of Lt. Longinotti who was killed in a plane crash near La Jolla, California, on 7 Dec. 1948.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

In the Who’s Who contest at Durant High School in March 1938, Malcolm won most studious and best all-round student. In April, he won his two tennis matches in the annual Big Black district meet. He played clarinet in the band and was a member of the Durant Boy Scouts. At the Marion Military Institute, he was often on the Dean’s List.

From the Clarion Ledger on December 9, 1948:

Durant, Dee. 8 — Lieut. Malcolm Longinotti, 26, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Louis Longinotti, of Durant, was killed when the jet plane he was flying exploded off the coast of California, and his body was lost at sea, relatives here were notified.

Details of the fatal accident were not available. The family here was notified by the Navy Department Tuesday night. The young pilot’s father said that it was his understanding that the fast Jet plane exploded over the bay. A search is being made for the body by the Navy.

The Navy Department said that Longinotti was flying a Navy P-80 fighter plane which was believed to have crashed into the ocean five miles off La Jolla, Calif. The pilot was headed toward the North Island Naval Air Station at San Diego, and he was said to have radioed that he was coming in shortly before the plane exploded.

Lieut. Longinotti was a 1944 graduate 6f the Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md. Prior to that time he attended the Marion Military Institute in Alabama, and graduated from the Durant High School. He was a member of the Baptist church.

Lieut. Longinotti had two years of active duty during World War II during which time he was a line officer on the U. S. S. North Carolina. He took his flight training after the war ended, and at the time the accident occurred was on a routine flight.

Member of a prominent Mississippi, the lieutenant’s father is president of the Peoples’ Bank in Durant and is a former mayor of the Holmes county town. He is a nephew of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Fly, of Jackson, who came here today to be with the family.

Lieut. Longinotti leaves his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Longinotti, of Durant, his wife, Mrs. Eleanor McDonald Longinotti, formerly of Texas, who was with him in California and who has been in contact with the family since the accident; one brother, James Longinotti, who is connected with the J.C. Penney company in Jackson, and an uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Fly, of Jackson.