Page 44: of Marine Technology Magazine (January 2023)

In Memorium

E. John Michel, MRCM (DV) USN (Ret),

Chief-of-the-Boat, Bathyscaph Trieste e met in January 1959 when shop. Then leave him alone, and in due

I became the ? rst Of? cer in course the ? nished piece was delivered.

W

Charge of the Navy’s newly Not only was John technically brilliant, acquired Bathyscaph Trieste and John was he was a wonderful shipmate. An ‘old the ? rst USN enlisted man to be assigned world craftsman’, he paid no attention to to the project. We were based at the Naval clock or calendar when things needed to

Electronics Laboratory in San Diego. be done. From being a diver to boat driv-

Trieste was unique as there were only er, John was always there. I never saw

Photo by L. McAuliffe, used with permission two deep diving manned submersibles him in a bad mood even during the most other to 35,912 feet. With the latter being in the world. The French Navy had trying days as we tested Trieste prior to to the deepest place in the World Ocean. the other. Our team learned about the our deepest dive in 1960. His upbeat per-

Literally, we bet our lives on John’s work.

bathyscaph more by ‘apprenticeship’ sonality, sense of humor and unmatched

We continued to work together with than through any sort of formal learning story telling abilities were great morale

Trieste for nearly three more years. There process. Our ‘teachers’ were the Swiss boosters for the whole team.

are many more stories to be told about inventor Jacques Piccard and his Italian His skills as a problem solver reached those days but no room for them here... mechanic, Giuseppe Buono. Everything new heights when a serious failure with

I was honored to serve with Master was ‘one-off’, when something was our pressure hull threatened to end the

Chief Petty Of? cer E. John Michel, needed we had to design and build it. program before our dive into Challenger shipmate and friend. Fair winds and seas

This situation was ideal for John, a Deep. John worked out a brilliant ? eld consummate professional in solving ? x and executed it. While it was not as you embark on your last sea duty… technical problems. We joked that if we ‘good as new’ it was quite safe for re- (Remembrance by Captain wanted something made, we’d just write suming our dive program.

Don Walsh USN (Ret) US Navy a general request on a 3x5 card and slip After the ? x Jacques Piccard and I made

Submersible Pilot #1) it under the door of his well-equipped two more dives, one to 24,000 and the ohn Michel was born in Brooklyn, ated from the U.S. Navy Divers School. John is survived by his wife, Nola, son,

New York, July 25, 1933 to German He had a few close encounters while Mark, his wife, Rebecca, granddaughter,

Jimmigrant parents. He learned shop SCUBA diving to support Trieste. On Rachel, daughter-in-law, Marilyn, and skills from his father and many “uncles” 24 June 1965, John descended to 3,500- granddaughters Kristin and Megan. He is in their close-knit neighborhood. He at- ft (583 fathoms) in bathyscaph Trieste II predeceased by his youngest son, Neil.

tended a technical high school to hone with then LCDR James B. Mooney, Jr., John served as an inspiration to his machinist skills. Working in New whom John called “a prince of a man.” younger crew: demonstrating a commit-

York City machine shops during and fol- John was proud of his German heri- ment to high standards, the willingness lowing high school, he learned to man- tage, and spoke the language ? uently. to accept extraordinary challenges, and age them: the men, machines, materials, When Professor Auguste Piccard, Swiss core belief he had the right stuff to solve and orders. That served him well after inventor of the Trieste, came to visit the the most seemingly complex problems, he enlisted in the US Navy during the boat and crew in San Diego, he could then move them into the “done” column.

Korean War. He ran the machine shop speak German, French and Italian, but A Celebration of Life is planned for of the USS Prairie (AD-15), a Dixie- not English. John became his translator, February 19 in San Diego. For further class destroyer tender. On one of John’s and accompanied him everywhere as he information, go to , deployments, the Prairie circumnavigat- toured the Point Loma Submarine Base. or please contact Mark Michel . In lieu of ? owers,

Project Nekton, he recalled machinery guage skills, good nature, and technical John’s family requests donations be on the Prairie that he was able to acquire knowledge of the bathyscaph. made to the U.S. Navy Divers Memo- to repair the Trieste pressure hull mis- Those who knew John fondly recall his rial at Miramar National Cemetery, San alignment Walsh spoke of. As a result mischievous chuckle when telling one of Diego ,www.navydivermemorial.org>.

of solving deep sea mission challenges, his many stories. He was an elite shell col-

John and the USN received a number lector and passionate student of the topic. (Remembrance by Kevin Hardy of patents for his inventions. While in John passed peacefully surrounded by Scripps Institution of Oceanography/

Project Nekton, he attended and gradu- family and friends on 14 December 2022. UCSD (Ret)) 44 January/February 2023

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