More detail on this person: AH-1G entered mast bumping and came apart. Also killed a Navy pilot receiving a familiarization ride. Doug was an astronaut. See memo.When Doug returned from Vietnam he was stationed at Rucker working staff for the Director of Instruction. He was contacted one day in the Spring of 1970 by his branch assignment personnel. It seemed that the Army wanted to get Army people into the space program along with all the other services. They had scanned all personnel records and came up with only three, him being one of the three. Would he like to get into the Astronaut Program they asked? Even though he was totally amazed, Doug leaped at the prospect. The Army transitioned him from helicopter to fixed wing, and he trained in the OV-1 Mohawk. He was then sent to Edwards AFB and was transitioned into jets. After accumulating some flight time, he went back to school at the University of Texas and got his Masters in Aeronautical Engineering, and his Doctorate in Orbital Mechanics. Not bad for a "slick driver", eh? By this time it was around 1976-77 and the space program was cooling. Doug spent time in Houston waiting for a "Ride" to come up. Meanwhile, he got back into the Army routine, and did Advance Course, etc. and a tour in Korea. He returned to the States in 1980 and was assigned to Patuxent River as the Chief R/W Instructor Pilot, still waiting for the call to go up from Houston.
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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