Crew Spotlight: Maurice La Montagne
Posted by Gabe Shuffield on October 12, 2024
Maurice Rangel La Montagne was born in 1919 in Mexico City, Mexico. As a kid, he attended The American School in Mexico City until moving to Austin, Texas where he graduated from Austin High School. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas, and then commissioned into the Navy in early 1942.
Lieutenant (junior grade) La Montagne reported aboard USS Texas in March 1944 in Casco Bay, Maine. With his background as an electrical engineer, Lt. (jg) La Montagne was an obvious choice as the E Division officer. E Division was responsible for the ship’s electrical systems and was one of the most widespread divisions on the ship. E Division worked on anything from electric lighting to complex instruments like gyrocompasses to major machinery like the steering motor, the ship’s cranes, and the motors for the 14” turrets. To get that much work done, there were about 70 men in E Division, including three chief petty officers, a warrant officer, and a junior division officer, all answering to La Montagne.
When Lt. (jg) La Montagne reported aboard, he was assigned stateroom #21 in Junior Officers Country on the forward half deck (a partial deck between 2nd and 3rd deck). Commissioned officers were divided into two groups, “Junior Officers” and “Wardroom Officers”. Typically, ensigns and lieutenants (jg) are considered junior officers and lieutenants, lt. commanders, and commanders are wardroom officers. Wardroom officers typically have a stateroom to themselves on 2nd deck, while junior officers would share with at least one roommate on the half deck. La Montagne’s roommate was Ensign Paul Morigi, who worked in Main Battery Plot, another system that La Montagne’s E Division would have supported.
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Stateroom 21 in 2011. The space also contains a sink and desk. Courtesy of Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. -
Plans for adding stateroom 21, dated 1926. Note that the entire room is just under 10 feet by 10 feet. Courtesy of National Archives & Records Administration.
Lt. (jg) La Montagne’s battle station was either Forward or Aft Distribution, the two main power distribution hubs on the ship. These spaces had major switchboards controlling the distribution of electricity to systems around the ship. They also had easy access to the ship’s forward and aft dynamos, which produced a total of 1,200 kilowatts of direct current electrical power. That’s enough to power about 960 average American homes today, produced right under his feet and flowing through cables all around him.
Lt. (jg) La Montagne served aboard USS Texas in the Invasion of Normandy, Battle of Cherbourg, Invasion of Southern France, Battle of Iwo Jima, and Battle of Okinawa. Shortly after the Battle of Okinawa, he was promoted to Lieutenant, then rotated off Texas to a new assignment. In total, Lt. La Montagne served 15 months aboard USS Texas, probably the most eventful 15 months of her career.
After the war, La Montagne went to work for General Electric in Schenectady, New York. His work for GE later brought him back to Mexico City, and to Monterrey. Maurice La Montagne passed away in 2011 at the age of 91.