Doug grew up in Joliet, Illinois where he attended Joliet Catholic High School and was an Executive Member of the Student Council and elected to the Homecoming Court. Throughout his life Doug was passionate about football and proud of the fact that his beloved Hilltoppers won a state championship each of his four years of high school. Doug was a defensive back on two of those championship teams, including his senior year team that outscored its state playoff opponents 106-0.
As a member of Sigma Ch, Doug always had a welcoming joy about him that was genuine, deep, and inspiring. He laughed easily, took his responsibilities seriously, but never took himself too seriously. He was impossible to anger and wore his fun-loving ways on his sleeve. Doug was a fraternity faceman who appeared on the cover of Panhellenic’s Men of Illinois calendar. He famously led his fraternity brothers on maybe the last of the sorority “Kong raids.”
As a 19-year-old sophomore at Illinois, Doug surprised his family and Sigma Chi brothers by making an incredible, life-changing decision when he walked two blocks from the fraternity house and enlisted to become a commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corp. His decision to join the Marines was driven by his lifelong dream of learning to fly. Doug explained that his dream was inspired by what he described as “man’s greatest achievement on a summer evening in the most imaginative year of our life, 1969.” He shared his memory of sitting with his family around a small black-and-white television in a motel room while on vacation when he was seven years old, as they watched the Apollo 11 astronauts land on the moon on July 20 of that year.
After graduating from U of I, Doug began his active service with the Marines by completing rifleman training in Quantico, Virginia. He was then sent to flight school in Pensacola, Florida and learned to fly planes and helicopters. When basic flight training was completed, Doug had to choose whether he wanted to pursue advance flight training with jets or with helicopters. Doug chose helicopters and soon learned that he was a natural at flying helicopters. Upon completion of his advanced flight training, Doug was stationed in California where he flew with the Flying Tigers Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361.
Doug rose through the ranks with the Marines and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. He had become an exceptional leader who led by example and inspired others to work together as a team. He had an extraordinary ability to earn the respect of troops through his authenticity and sincerity. At the start of the Gulf War, Doug was sent to Saudi Arabia where he served as the Airfield Operations Officer for operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. For two years he was the officer in charge of all coalition forces airfield operations (other than air traffic control.)
From 1992 until 2001, Doug flew with the famous Roadhog Heavy Marine Helicopter unit. In early 2001, Doug decided to focus on his career as an American Airlines pilot. But that decision did not last long. On September 10, 2001, Doug had landed his commercial flight late at night on the West coast and gone to bed. He woke up the next morning to an American Airlines jet headed for Los Angeles being crashed into the North World Trade Center Tower in New York. Doug got to a television in time to see a second jet crash into the South WTC tower and a third jet crash into the Pentagon. By the time a fourth hijacked jet crashed into a field after passengers overpowered the hijackers, Doug was already on the phone with the Roadhogs squadron leadership saying “I’m here and ready if you need me.” He then reunited with the Roadhogs in Afghanistan in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. His squadron’s performance in Afghanistan was so exemplary that it was in and out in only seven months and named squadron of the year for their combat performance. By the time Doug retired from the Marines in 2007, he had earned numerous honors including the Air Medal with flight numeral 1, the Navy Commendation Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal with two Bronze Stars, the National Defense Service Medal with one Star, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with two Stars, and Meritorius Unit Commendation with one Star.
In 1993, Doug was married to his wife Cindy, whom he adored as his best friend and the love of his life. They enjoyed driving along the Pacific coast every Sunday and taking frequent walks along the beach. They tried to travel to Hawaii every year (sometimes twice) and enjoyed their favorite trips to see Germany’s Christmas markets, Italy, Australia, and Ireland.
Doug’s life was remembered by his pledge brothers as best defined by his faithfulness. He was faithful to God, to his cherished wife Cindy, and to his family. He was faithful to his country, to the Marines, to his friends, his teammates, his classmates, and his fraternity brothers. He was faithful to his core values, including integrity, charity, honesty, and determination. He was faithful to his dream, and when he looked back, as the end of his life was near, he could truthfully say that he had fought the good fight in every imaginable way. He had finished his work, discharged his duties, and, above all, he had kept the faith.