Michel JOURDAN

“  I was an 11-year-old boy at the time… My father, a defense civilian, was on board the Galissonière (I believe) for trials, he had to come home late . We were listening to the radio like many families with my mother (TV was not in every home) when the announcer announced the loss of the submarine and the deployment of the ships in the area, she simply said to me: "Daddy won't come home."

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Michel GARNIER

http://www.anciens-cols-bleus.net/t25159-minerve-sm

“  I lived in Toulon, HLM Bazeille, I had just turned 9. On this Sunday morning in January everyone was sleeping at home. Around 5 / 6:00 am there is a knock on the door. My father gets up, us behind. He comes back, white as a sheet, spouting "Hey shit shit"... What's going on? La Minerve is missing, we set sail immediately, we don't know when we';ll be back. At that time he was Cipal Méca on a minesweeper. He had several friends on board La Minerve”.

 

DRUIDE

http://www.anciens-cols-bleus.net/t25159p100-minerve-sm

“ I remember this Sunday around 12 p.m. when cars equipped with loudspeakers crisscrossed the streets of Toulon asking certain crews, including that of Clem in particular, to join the boat immediately, leaving us in expectation as to the reason for this recall. Just as I will never be able to forget the moving ceremony on the Place of Armes presided over by General de Gaulle and the huge square formed by all the delegations from all the units. Everyone, that day, had their stomachs knotted to the extreme”.

 

Alain TILLY

«"I was on the Galissoniere of service on January 28, we left on Monday 29 for the research, my wife... had not had any information, we had neither radio nor television ".”.

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Francois DEL BOCA

http://francois.delboca.free.fr/port/fsminerve.html

“The morning of 28/01/1968, I remember as if it were yesterday, in the middle of the night the siren on board was triggered to warn us of the silence of the "Minerve";. It must have been around 3:00 in the morning. We got up to scan the horizon for a good part of the night.

We were with her on exercise, Minerva had finished and was returning. At 8 o'clock on the morning of the 27th, she warned the surveillance plane that she was one hour from Toulon, then radio silence.

After a week of searching without result on the fast escort "Agenais", we returned to Toulon, at Quai Noël, to stock up and leave immediately.

The head clerk had not been able to move to choose, we had been made a pile on the platform, frozen meat stamped in blue ink 1945, Vico potatoes in boxes, bread of war, "monkey"(canned meat), "Henaff"pâté (following the saying used at the time in the navy, forgive me, "Henaff, the pâté du Mataf qui fait un gros paf" and some fresh breads for two days.

In other circumstances, we would have grumbled, no one did, thinking of our fallen comrades.

The poor cooks were desperate for meat, they tried the steak the first time, but it was only edible in a stew.

Searching the internet the max allowed for freezing beef these days is 18 months, so 23 year old meat but nobody got sick”.

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Michel JOURDAN

"It was the next day that I felt the full impact of the drama: I was in CM2 at St Roch school and a little boy was crying in the yard, his papa was on board the Minerve. I remember that we were around him to try to reassure him with our little childish means, we told him that Commander Cousteau was coming to dive and save the sailors”.

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Jean-Joel DE RUDNICKI

"I was on the Ariane submarine at the time of the events, at sea and I took part in the research, I remember a sonar echo that I reported to the head of the central who called the TUUM the Minerva as follows: "Mike Romeo, Mike Romeo this is Yankee November, this is Yankee November if you get me speak" it was repeated many times. When I reported the echo, the boss took the headset and made me turn the wheel from right to left and at one point he stared at the echo. If I remember correctly, the pasha, the LV Froget also listened and then I left my post to go to the steering helm (usual watch rotation). I was 17 1/2 years old and I was shaken, like my comrades, because we knew there was no hope. I have lost friends that I will never forget. We returned to the quay 48h00 around 23h00 after the disappearance, the time to refuel and go back to sea for the search. We had a minute of silence and the commander didn't have much hope. We remain marked for life by these dramas of the Minerva and the Eurydice  and the atmosphere at the 1st SM squadron was no longer the same..."

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Maurice GREE

“I was doing my military service on the Cassard as a radar operator. After a few days of exercise at sea, we were heading for Toulon, where we were to arrive around noon on the 28th; But early in the morning the pasha warned us that the Minerve had not returned to Toulon and that we were staying in the area to begin the search. During these four or five days, the entire crew of Le Cassard mobilized in the hope of finding our Friends (sampling of traces of hydrocarbons, recovery of all floating waste, regular calls to "Mike Echo"; asking to tap on the hull etc....)”

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Alain MARSALLON

“  I was QM1 electrician on board Captain Robert Giraud. I have never been able to forget those days of research with Commander Cousteau. The tremendous tension that animated us all, the expectation, the hope and then the deep sadness when the research was abandoned. »

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George KEVORKIAN

“It is now Monday morning January 29, 1968, shortly after 7 a.m., the freezing mistral has calmed down. Groups of workers are forming, I approach them: "Chief, I saw matafs this morning... who told me that the Minerve was lost: it hasn't returned to the base like intended ". I don';t know what to answer, I still don't understand the tragedy of the situation. I have never been confronted with such events.

From the squadron of Missiessy, then comes the confirmation that she lost all contact with the submarine on the morning of Saturday and that it has been officially missing since the time of her scheduled return at the end of the evening of that same Saturday.

In the afternoon, I learn that I am going to embark in the evening, in the company of workers whom I must appoint, who I must appoint, on a Gabare with the hope of having to put into action organs that we have prepared to ventilate the crew in fresh air, if we can reach La Minerve. But I know in my heart of hearts that it is vain to believe in the implementation of these means of rescue.

After a night spent aboard the Gabare off Toulon, we received the order to return to port: the hope of finding the Minerve was dismissed. When our equipment disembarked on Tuesday morning January 31, we understood that the submarine was definitively lost: the attitude, full of restraint of the personnel of the squadron and the shipyard, did not deceive us”

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Didier BARCELONA

"At CO I was at Thune (Gertrude) for 4 days, and every hour (I don't remember exactly) two grenades were thrown into the water, which was the way of asked the submarine to signal its presence, on the submarine telephone it was every ten minutes that we sent a call”.

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