Doug Thompson W5DET, October 20231966 Naval Academy graduate Douglas E. Thompson died in Alamogordo, New Mexico, on October 4, 2023. Always a lover of music, particularly blues and jazz, Doug greatly enjoyed his time as disc jockey for the Academy radio station where he billed himself on air as “The Mad Monk of the Marble Monastery”.

Following graduation, Doug trained as a Navy pilot. Piloting the A-4 was probably the highlight of his life He flew numerous missions over Vietnam in the late 1960’s. He has told the story many times of one incident while taking off from the aircraft carrier while the ship was headed downward in heavy swells as he was attempting to become airborne. The plane performed superbly (and so did he) and he survived by a hair’s breath.

Doug was an innovator and chance taker and never seemed daunted by would be setbacks. He met his future wife Virginia while at the Naval Postgraduate school in Monterey, California in 1970, introduced by a fellow student due to their mutual interest in the game of Bridge. Their son Adam just had his 50th birthday, and Doug has 2 grandsons, now in their late teens, early 20’s. Doug’s last military posting was at the Naval Air Test Facility in Lakehurst, New Jersey, and he left the Navy in May, 1972. That year, Doug and Virginia set out in a pop top VW Camper with the intent of driving all the way from southern California to the southern tip of South America. A wonderful journey, particularly exploring Mayan sites throughout central America that were largely undeveloped at that time. In Panama, they altered their plan and boarded a freighter crossing to Europe at Christmas time.

Doug piloted small planes for a number of years. His interest in all things aviation never waned. He became an international service representative for Cessna, Wichita, Kansas, and eventually an Engineer at Boeing Wichita. Before retiring from Boeing and moving to Alto NM in 2000, Doug started a recording studio (Brickbarn) north of Wichita. In Alto, he started a business refinishing log homes with a specialized product (Wood Iron) and eventually got into the business of selling and erecting steel buildings. He had been a Ham Radio operator since the age of 13 and was very active in White Mountain Search and Rescue during his early years in Alto and, later, Sierra Blanca Amateur Radio Club. He was a whiz at all things computer and technical.

His presence, calm, and talents are sorely missed! He was also President and Secretary/Treasurer of the SBARC for a number of years.