:: Andre Galerne - Distinguished Service - 1988

Andre Galerne was the founder and former Chairman of the Board of International Underwater Contractors (I.U.C.) and its subsidiary, Deep Sea International Inc. Born in 1926, in Paris, France, Mr. Galerne was recruited into the French Underground Resistance to fight against the German forces occupying France during World War II. He took his first dive in 1943 using Le Prieur apparatus and worked closely with Jacques Yves Cousteau and Phillipe Tailliez in the early days of Aqua-Lung development. Later he honed his engineering skills at l'Ecole Technique d'Aeronautique et de la Construstion Automobile. In 1952, he founded Societe Generale de Travaux Maritimes et Fluviaux, SOGETRAM, one of the world's first international firms providing professional diving in industrial work. Using the Aqua-Lung and light diving helmets, Mr. Galerne's firm revolutionized the underwater industry. In 1959, he left France to start I.U.C.-Canada, in Montreal. In 1962, he emigrated to the United States where he formed International Underwater Contractors, Inc., serving as President until 1993. In 1970, Mr. Galerne began I.U.C. International to service the offshore oil industry. In 1978, he formed the Deep Sea International to operate marine vessels and submersibles and ROVs for the same industry. As President of the Association of Diving Contractors he introduced the regional chapter system, modified the bylaws