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the 2nd Army Air Service under Colonel Frank P. Lahm and Lieutenant Colonel John F. Curry. The duties of this unit was a courier service to Coblentz , Germany, which was occupied by United States troops. This assignment included considerable training in navigational and instrument flying. 

In May, 1919, Bonnalie returned to the United States, resigned his commission as First Lieutenant and resumed civilian life. He then went into mechanical engineering work in industrial plants, which included estimating, design and construction, followed by about eight years as mechanical engineer [[strikethrough]],[[/strikethrough]] in the Maintenance of Way [[strikethrough]],[[/strikethrough]] Department, of the Southern Pacific Railroad in San Francisco. 

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[[strikethrough]]In 1925 he[[/strikethrough]] Bonnalie had joined the Naval Reserves as a Lieutenant [[Delete periods and Close gap mark]]U.S.N.R.[[/Delete periods and Close gap mark]] in 1925, and commanded Reserve Squadrons at Oakland, California and Glenview, Illinois until World War II.
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While with the railroad Bonnalie attempted to have them bid on a Government air mail contract for the route from San Francisco to Chicago, but was turned down and Boeing Air Transport [[strikethrough]]were[[/strikethrough]] was the successful bidder[[strikethrough]]s[[/strikethrough]]. Still interested, he joined Boeing in 1929 at the Boeing School of Aeronautics at the Oakland Airport. While there he [[strikethrough]]was[[/strikethrough]] co-authored [[strikethrough]]of[[/strikethrough]] a book entitled "Airplane Maintenance" with Younger and Ward [[strikethrough]],[[/strikethrough]] which was published by McGraw Hill in 1937.

Shortly after Bonnalie joined Boeing Air Transport Division it became United Air Lines, and he not only assisted in their training program but [[transpose]]also was[[/transpose]] Assist[[strikethrough]]e[[/strikethrough]]ant [[lowercase]]H[[/lowercase]]ead of their flight department, [[strikethrough]]then[[/strikethrough]] and later was made President and General Manager of United in Mexico, known as LAMSA. This [[Close gap]]air line[[/Close gap]] was sold in 1952 and Bonnalie was moved to Denver, Colorado, as Director of the United Flight Training Center.

About this time the Government Foreign Operations Administration asked United Air Lines for assistance in their overseas aviation activities. [[strikethrough]]connected with.[[/strikethrough]] As a result, Bonnalie was assigned to this project as a part-time duty. This involved foreign travel for the State Department to study training and develop [[Close gap]]air lines[[/Close gap]] and facilities.

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At the time of Pearl Harbor [[strikethrough]]Bonnalie[[/strikethrough]] he had been advanced in the Naval Reserves to Lieutenant Commander, Production Division, Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department, Washington, D.C., from which he retired as Rear Admiral USNR in 1953.


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