On December 30, 1969, Captain Douglas D. Ferguson was on an armed-reconnaissance mission when his F-4D Phantom II aircraft crashed in Houaphan Province, Laos.  Following the incident, Doug was listed as Missing In Action.  Following several excavations of the site, he was identified on February 14, 2014.  He will be returning to Tacoma on May 1, 2014. 

Doug grew up in Tacoma, WA loving the out of doors, building and flying model airplanes, enjoying skiing and other sports.  One of his favorite activities was flying for a penny a pound at the small airport near Fircrest.  He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1963 and received a United States Air Force Academy Appointment where he became a member of the 16th Squadron. When he graduated from the Academy in 1967 and entered flight training he was close to accomplishing his dream of becoming a pilot.  At the completion of flight training, he chose the F-111 as his choice of aircraft. Subsequently that plane was grounded and he was re-assigned to the F-4D Phantom II and the 555th Tactical Air Squadron stationed at Udorn, Thailand.

In October, 1968, he married the love of his life Linda Leith.  Unfortunately their life together was cut far too short with his crash December 30, 1969, in Laos and his Missing Status.  Following a status review in 1976 his status was amended to Presumed Killed in Action.  By 1978 all servicemen from the Vietnam War, not in a POW status, were listed as Presumed Killed in Action.

One of the treasures of Doug and Linda's life together was a St. Bernard puppy named Gomer. Many of you may remember the Gomer stories.  We hope you will share them if you do!

Doug often found humor in life's goofy situations or sometimes even in the terrifying events of war.  Persisting, even in the face of fear and danger, is one of his legacies.  It was that persistence that earned him the Silver Star, the Citation which Accompanied the Award reads:


"First Lieutenant Douglas D. Ferguson distinguished himself by gallantry in connection with military operations against opposing armed forces as an F-4D Pilot over hostile territory on 21 December 1969. On that date, Lieutenant Ferguson, despite adverse weather conditions and intensive hostile ground fire, successfully prevented the capture and possible death of two downed airmen. His heroic determination and professional ability in the face of withering ground fire resulted in the successful rescue of both airmen. By his gallantry and devotion to duty, Lieutenant Ferguson has reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force."