March 17, 1915 (New York, NY) – September 22, 1942; 27 years old
Married to Marion C. Hayden Malins (1915-1984) on April 4, 1942, in Duval, Florida
One son Victor Elliot Malins (1943-1994)
Last local address: 2 Great Marsh Road, Saugatuck, CT
Father Victor and mother Bridie lived at 14 Byrd Rd in Norwalk
Born to Victor E.W. (1889-1984) and Bridget “Bridie” Brophy Malins (1892-1984). Brother Walter (1912-2007) and sister Agnes (1918-2010).
Norwalk High School Class of 1933
1939 Yearbook from Colby College
From The Norwalk Hour February 20, 1942
The Navy’s Flight Selection Board for New England announced today that Victor Malins of Great Marsh (Westport) has completed preliminary flight training at the Squantum, Massachusetts Naval Air Station and has been ordered to report to a southern base for intermediate training. Malins, son of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Malins of Great Marsh, graduated from Norwalk High School in 1933. He played baseball and basketball for two years while there. At Colby College, from which he graduated in 1939, he played baseball and basketball for four years. He was President of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity there. Malins served as a member of the National Guard for two and one-half years. At the southern base, Malins will undergo a month’s intermediate training prior to reporting at Pensacola, Jacksonville, or Corpus Christi, for about seven months of advanced flight training. Upon graduation, he will be awarded the gold wings of a naval aviator and commissioned an Ensign in the Naval Reserve or a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve. Following 15 days furlough, to visit his home and college campus, he will be ordered to active duty as a pilot in the Aeronautic Organization of the Navy. At these three principal training centers, he and hundreds of other young college men will learn to fly all types of Navy landplanes and seaplanes, from the speedy single-seater fighters to the multi-motored flying boats or patrol bombers. This diversified training prepares Naval aviation cadets for careers not only in the Navy and Marine Corps but also in commercial aviation after the war. All flight instruction is given by flying officers in the Navy or Marine Corps and no instructor is assigned more than five cadets, thus making for a low attrition or wash-out rate, and assuring each cadet a maximum of individual instruction both in the air and on the ground. Cadets are trained in units representing their particular college, following a Navy policy which dates back to World War I and the original Yale unit. Recreational activities are supervised by Lieutenant Commanders, J.J. “Gene” tunny and Eddie Mahan. Football, baseball, tennis, golf, and polo teams representing these advanced training bases are trained by and studied with, former college stars, and men who have made athletic history as amateur athletes. Navy flight training is open to single men between the ages of 19 and 26, inclusive, who acquired on-half the credits for their degrees from accredited colleges or who are graduates of accredited junior colleges, and who have been American citizens for at least ten years. Naval aviation cadets receive pay and allowances of $105 a month, plus quarters, uniforms, free medical and dental care, and a $10,000 life insurance policy. As Ensigns or Second Lieutenants, they receive $245 a month ($205 if government quarters are furnished), a uniform allowance of $150, and a lump sum of $500 for each complete year of commissioned service in the Naval or Marine Corps Reserve. The application should be addressed to the Naval Aviation Cadet Selection Board, 150 Causeway Street, Boston, Massachusetts, to its associate members in the principal New England cities and colleges, or to the nearest Navy or Marine Corps recruiting station.
From The Norwalk Hour August 28, 1942
MALINS IS STAR OF NAVY QUINTET
Local Youth, Now An Aviation Cadet, To Be In Lineup Against Miami U.
Jacksonville, Fla. — Vic Malins, one of the regular guards on the Naval Air Station basketball team this season, will be in the starting lineup once again when the “Fliers” meet the University of Miami tonight at the Duval County armory. Busy with flying duties, he has missed the past few games but will be ready to go in the game which is being played for the benefit of the Red Cross war relief fund. Aviation Cadet Malins has been at the Air Station since December 11. He enlisted in the Navy in Boston, Massachusetts. According to Coach Lee, his particular ability is his aggressiveness in playing the ball. On defense, he is always ready to intercept an opponent’s pass or to break up a play. On offense, he is an expert at setting up plays and passing the ball in for set shots. At Colby College in Waterville, Maine, he was a varsity athlete competing in basketball, baseball, and track. He played on the Colby team which won the state championship from such schools as Bates, Maine, and Bowdoin in 1939. In High School in Norwalk, Connecticut, he won varsity letters in baseball and basketball. He was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity in college and was President of the fraternity in his senior year. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Malins of Norwalk, Connecticut. Malins was one of the Colby students instrumental in organizing a cheer leading section in college. In addition to this, through the efforts of the students, a white mule was purchased and made the official Colby mascot.
From the Bismarck Tribune, September 23, 1942
In the first accident since naval air training began here in 1935, Ensign Victor E. Malins, 27, of Saugatuck, Connecticut, a navy flight instructor, was killed and his student, Stanley I. Davis Jr, 24, Jacksonville, Illinois, injured when their plane plummeted 300 feet to earth as it “spun in” to a nearby auxiliary field on a “solo check” flight. Davis suffered head and face lacerations. Webmaster note: Stanley Davis survived and lived to be 77 years old.
From The Norwalk Hour September 24, 1942
Funeral services for Ensign Victor Malins, son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Malins of Saugatuck Shores, will be held at 9:30 A.M. at his parent’s home and at 10 A.M. at the Church of the Assumption, Westport. Interment will take place in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Westport. Ensign Malins, husband of the former Mario Hayden of Greens Farms, and brother of Mrs. Agnes Murray of this city and Walter Malins of Waterbury was killed Tuesday in a plane crash at the U.S. Naval Air Base, Minneapolis, where he was serving as an instructor. He was in the air with a student when the plane crashed. The remains of Ensign Malins will arrive in Westport on Friday afternoon, and friends may call at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Malins on Friday evening. Full military honors will be accorded to the deceased at the funeral services on Saturday. A Naval Guard of Honor will take part in the services, as will a firing squad.
From a Colby College Newsletter, October 1942
ENS. VICTOR E. MALINS, ‘39
Ensign Victor P. Malins, of Saugatuck, Connecticut, U.S. Navy Flight Instructor at the Wold–Chamberlain Naval Aviation Base, was killed and a student pilot injured on September 22nd at Minneapolis when their training plane went into a spin and crashed four miles southwest of the base. It was the first fatality for the base since it was set up at Wold–Chamberlain over seven years ago. The accident happened as the plane was approaching an auxiliary flying field and was expected to land. About 300 feet off the ground, the plane went into a spin and plunged. Malins was born March 17, 1915, in New York City, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Malins. He graduated from Norwalk High School, in Connecticut. At Colby, he played basketball and baseball and was head cheerleader for two years. He also served as president of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. Ensign Malins received his flight training at Squantum, Massachusetts, and Jacksonville, Florida. He is survived by his wife Marion; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Victor Malins of Saugatuck, Connecticut; one sister and one brother.
Ensign Malins is buried at Assumption Cemetery, Greens Farms Road, Westport, Connecticut. Photo by webmaster.
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