LLOYD PIERRE LA PLANT

LA PLANT, LLOYD PIERRE Pearl Harbor Survivor Lloyd Pierre La Plant, Captain USN, died June 3, 2011. He was born in 1916 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At age 18, Lloyd joined the United States Navy to fly airplanes like his father did. He was attached to Patrol Squadron-14F in Norfolk, Virginia. He flew mail for President Franklin Roosevelt and earned a commendation from the President. In 1936, he married Vivian Reason in South Mills, North Carolina. They moved to Florida, where he went to flight school at Pensacola and received his "wings" in December 1937. The couple next went to San Diego, where Lloyd joined Patrol Squadron-10 (VP-10), flying PBY's. In January 1938 he flew to Pearl Harbor in an 18-plane mass flight. Lloyd was at home at Waikiki Beach at 7:55 a.m. when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and he went down to the base at Ford Island where all the PBY's were shot up. A few aircraft were pieced back together, and he was one of those few who piloted out a couple of hours later to patrol for the enemy. He never discussed the event except to say that he lost a lot of friends. Among several assignments, he flew PBYs in the Aleutian Islands campaign in Alaska, for which he was cited and recommended for the Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1943, he was transferred to Washington, D.C. (Anacostia N.A.S.), where he flew many dignitaries and high-ranking military personnel, and became the personal pilot for Assistant Secretary of Navy for Air. He was officer in charge of the air facility in American Samoa for one tour in the late 1940s. In the 1950s, he commanded a destroyer ship in the Korean War. He lived in many different places, including Middletown, Rhode Island; Monterey, La Mesa, and El Cajon in California; Samoa; and Hawaii. Lloyd retired from the Navy as a Captain in 1956. He earned at least 14 medals and ribbons. After retirement, he got his Masters degree in Industrial Arts at San Diego State College. For 26 years he taught mathematics and aeronautics at Grossmont High School, where he also served as vice principal. He also taught some at Grossmont Community College. He owned a small two-seater plane stationed at Gillespie Field and in the 1980's and 1990's flew frequently to the Bahamas, Warner Springs, and many other places with his second wife, Sandra. He was a flight instructor for powered airplanes and gliders. In the 1990s, he was active in tennis at the Colina Del Sol Recreation Center and won a gold medal in the Senior Olympics in the age 80-85 group with doubles partner Tony Chacksfield. Lloyd was a model for supervision, attention to detail, and academic success, and all three of his children became self-motivated doctors: Pierre in science, Lloyd in dentistry, and Jeannine in law. He is survived in his immediate family by his three children: Pierre La Plant of Richmond, CA; Lloyd La Plant, Jr. of El Cajon, CA; Jeannine Brager of Los Angeles, CA; two grandchildren from each child for a total of six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren from Pierre's son. He also leaves behind more family in Minnesota, including his niece, Donna Mae Hoffman. Burial with full Military Honors will be held at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, at 9:00 a.m., June 23, 2011. Friends are invited, but there is a 10-car limit. For a more complete in memoriam, e-mail pierrelaplant at gmail dot com.