More detail on this person: I was in USMC OCS
with Doug and was stationed at New River with him
prior to each of us going to WestPac during the
Vietnam conflict. Doug was stationed in Thailand
and I in The Philippine Islands, the Gulf of
Tonkin and Okinawa. This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site:
07/12/2023
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Doug definitely made 1LT and probably Captain. I
actually knew him as a 1LT. After active duty he
joined an Army National Guard or maybe an Army
Reserve unit probably in LA. He was flying
helicopters off the coast of LA when a hurricane
was coming. He was ferrying personnel from an
offshore oil rig and was sitting on one of the
rigs with rotors turning waiting for some of the
last personnel to board. As told to me by the
Army officer who inventoried his gear, a large
wave (or could it have been a gust of wind?)
washed or blew him overboard where he perished.
Doug was originally from the state of Washington
or Oregon.
Doug was survived by his wife Sandy.
I wish I had more information on this good friend
of mine whom I lost contact with after getting off
active duty.
From: James D Hays
My name is Sandra Driskell and I am the widow of
Douglas C. Driskell. He loved flying but felt he
was away from his family too much in the Marine
Corps so he left the service after 10 - 11 years.
Yes he made captain. As I recall he was up for
Major. After leaving the Marine Corps, he went
back to school for two years and earned his A & P,
then went to work for Petroleum Helicopters Inc.
(PHI), You actually had more information about
the incident surrounding his death than I did. He
was working for PHI out of Houma, La. He would
drive to Houma, fly his helicopter out into the
Gulf, stay a week and fly back to Houma and drive
home to Pensacola. We lived in Pensacola (one of
his Marine Corps buddies lived there and he
thought the schools were better). He gave me
three wonderful children, now grown. Doug died
when they were quite young but they have a few
good memories. He ended up in the Army reserve.
I remember Jim Hayes, wife and baby girl. Those
were good days, filled with flying helicopters,
making good friends.
From: Sandra Driskel
My dad did die on March 12, 1984 while working as
a pilot for PHI. He was born in Denver, Colorado
(you have the correct date for his birth), but he
did grow up near Seattle, Washington. He loved to
climb mountains and he loved to fly. He enjoyed
singing in our church choir and he certainly had a
zest for life. I don't really have a whole lot to
add because I was only seven years old when he
died, but it was neat to see that somebody
remembers my dad.
From: Jenny (Driskell) Patrick