MAURICE E. COLLMER, II, LTJG, USN

Maurice Collmer, II '52

Date of birth: March 31, 1929

Date of death: July 27, 1959

Age: 30

Naval Academy

Maurice resigned from the Naval Academy on June 20, 1950 with the following note: "Deficient in studies. Reexamined and again deficient. Discharged under honorable conditions."

Midshipman 3/c Maurice Collmer, II, from the 1950 Lucky Bag.

Loss

Maurice was lost on July 27, 1959 when the helicopter he was aboard crashed near Easton, Maryland.

Other Information

From the November 1959 issue of Shipmate in the 1952 Class update section:

Maurice Edward Collmer II
It is with deep regret that I report the death of Lt. MAURICE EDWARD COLLMER II in a helicopter accident near Easton, Md., on 27 July 1959. Lieutenant Collmer is a non-graduate member of our class and is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. M. E. Collmer of Dallas, Texas.

From Hagerstown Daily Mail on July 28, 1959:

Two Killed In ‘Copter Crash During Storm
EASTON, Md. (AP)—A Navy helicopter, flying from New Jersey to Virginia, crashed on Maryland’s Eastern Shore during a thunderstorm yesterday, killing both men aboard.
The six-seat craft was en route from the Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, N.J. to Norfolk, Va. Lakehurst said the dead were Lt. (j.g.) Maurice E. Collmer II, 30, of Dallas, Tex., and Aviation Mechanic Edward R. Aiken, 37, of Pensacola, Fla.
A witness said the helicopter was flying very low when it suddenly dipped and crashed into a cornfield on the Kenneth Fisher farm about nine miles east of here.
The craft was demolished. Rescue workers had to cut away the twisted wreckage to reach the bodies. Fire trucks were sent to the scene from Easton but there was no fire.
It came down about 150 yards from the Fisher house. Mrs. Fisher said she was talking on the telephone when she saw a piece of the chopper fall.
Robert Quidas of Harmony, Caroline County, said he witnessed the crash from the south shore of the Choptank River.
“I saw this helicopter come out of the rain,” he said. “She was flying along and, all at once, went down. It went into a dive and crashed.”
One man who saw the wreckage said, “It looked to me as if the plane came down, bounced once and then crumpled into a ball.”
Lakehurst is the Navy’s major blimp base on the East Coast. The helicopter had stopped at Dover, Del., to refuel and had taken off from there at 11:27 a.m. on the final leg of the flight.
It was to be assigned to a ship at Norfolk for routine utility work and rescue missions.
Lakehurst said the ‘copter was a twin rotor model, designated HUP-2, with two pilot seats and four seats for passengers.
The Navy began an immediate investigation.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Maurice graduated from St. George High School in Evanston, Illinois. He attended Northwestern University and was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha. He graduated from the University of Houston.
Before the Naval Academy, he was a representative for Braniff Airways in Houston and had been employed by the Briggs Weaver Machinery Company.
Maurice was the first alternate appointee to the Naval Academy by Rep. Stratton in February 1948.
In July 1952 and July 1953, Maurice's passport was used to get a visa to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Maurice married Jan Moise on June 6, 1953, in Saint Mary's Church in Houston. Their wedding trip was to Havana, Panama, Lima, and Rio de Janiero.
In May 1958, Maurice was on USS Essex in the Mediterranean.
Maurice was stationed at Lakehurst Naval Base in New Jersey when his helicopter crashed during a thunderstorm. The two Navy men were en route to join their ship for a seven-month cruise on special assignment to Europe with the 6th Fleet.
His father Maurice was an agent for the Industrial Life Company. He served in both WWI and WWII. He died in Dallas and was buried in South Bend, Indiana. His mother was Lauretta.
The Collmer family was a pioneer family of South Bend, Indiana. They operated the South Bend Spring Wagon and Carriage Company for many years.

Maurice is buried in Indiana.