Lieutenant jg William Michael Coinman ’66, USN
William Michael Coinman was born 6 October 1942 in Frankfort, Kentucky to William and Ellen Coinman. Because his father subsequently worked for the Farmers Home Administration in New Mexico, Mike lived in a number of communities in New Mexico, including married student housing at NMSU in 1948 while his father was completing his degree. His family also lived in Mountainair, Clovis, and eventually settled in Clayton, where Mike graduated from high school in 1960. At NMSU, Mike majored in Mechanical Engineering, earning his BS with honors in 1966. While at NMSU, he worked for the Physical Science Laboratory (PSL) on campus as well as at the satellite tracking stations in Japan and the Marshall Islands. In 1967 he married Nancy R. Arvidson, who attended NMSU as well. Having participated in the ROTC program at NMSU, he joined the Navy, completed Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida and flight training in Meridian, Mississippi; Pensacola, Florida; and Kingsville, Texas. He was commissioned as a naval aviator on 23 January 1968 and was assigned to Attack Squadron 25 at Lemoore, California. VFA-25 was then transitioning into the A-7 Corsair II attack aircraft.
In December 1968, the squadron deployed aboard the USS Ticonderoga in preparation for deployment to Vietnam. On January 7, 1969 Lt jg Mike Coinman was killed when his aircraft, A-7 B Corsair II #154510 crashed immediately following a night catapult launch. The unit was participating in “Exercise Bell Curve” approximately 60 miles northwest of San Diego. His plane crashed into the sea approximately 3 miles from the USS Ticonderoga. Despite extensive efforts, the US Navy called off the search for Lt jg Coinman on 10 January 1969. He was lost at sea. It is speculated that his crash resulted from fogging of the cockpit when his air conditioning went full on in the humid environment. His plane veered upwards, stalled and then crashed into the sea.
In 2001, friends of Mike established the Wm. Michael Coinman Endowed Memorial Scholarship in the College of Engineering, a scholarship which targets New Mexico high school graduates entering the engineering program at New Mexico State University.