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:
01/11/2025
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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