Godspeed Dougie!

Aw man, that sucks but I know he's better off now. I called a few days ago and left a message but Tracy texted me back to say he heard my message and knew I was thinking of him.

RIP Dougie, we are gonna miss you.

RIP Dougie!!

RIP Dougie

RIP

Hell of a guy.

Damn....RIP sir.

Rest easy, Dougie. Thoughts are with the family at this time.

Godspeed to a truly inspirational man. You'll be missed Dougie.

God Speed Dougie my friend. You will be missed.

Damn, RIP Dougie.

He brought a warmth here.



Miss you Dougie.

uggh. Just awful. Fucking cancer. Hits close to home because my Dad passed last year from it. RIP Dougie.

Bummer. At least he isn't suffering anymore, the only positive out of this.

RIP Dougie

I took by Bicycle out for a hundred miler today and was thinking about Dougie and wondering how he was doing.....RIP Dougie, good guy, he put up one hell of a fight!

Wow...sorry to here the news
Dougie was a pioneer here from the beginning .

Such a good online friend,RIP

Seemed like a really good guy . Him and his family are in my thoughts.

Rest In Peace Dougie.

RIP dougie

Well that sucks but at least he isn't in pain anymore.
Rest easy Dougie, you've earned it.

Heres a post by Dougie from November 2011 that always stuck in my mind. Just a couple of stories from his "vacation" in Vietnam.

Original thread link

I sure remember being jumpy. Even today I hate loud noises. Obviously anything that booms or explodes but I even hate telephones and alarm clocks. When they go off I come out of my skin.

When I was in Nam I was stationed at a place called Camp Holloway. I was up in the Central Highlands about 40 clicks from the Cambodian border. Holloway was a helicopter base. It was basically a runway (made of sheets of PSP) (perforated steel plates) as were the flight lines. At the top of the runway (it ran slightly up hill) was the main post. It wasnt big just a bunch of small barracks (plywood huts) a PX a chapel and assort admin stuff. As you came back down the runway it was lined with different companies. There were a gun ship company (hueys and cobras armed with mini guns and rocket launchers, We had a couple of small planes, then there was one company that was comprised of two of those huge sky cranes. Then came a company of Chinooks (shit hooks) also heavily armed. Then the last company down at the end of the runway was my company, the 604th. We were a Direct support deal. We fixed helicopers. We had this big hanger made of sheet metal and someone (before I got there) Im guessing a psycho company commander decided to taunt "charlie" by painting a large Bulls eye target on the roof facing the valley. That didnt inspire a high level of comfort. About 100 -200' beyond the hanger was the bunker line. A series of towers and sand bagged bunkers, lining a long wire, fence armed with claymores. Guard duty (nights on the bunker line) were handed out like KP. Everyone had to do it every few weeks. Real scary at first. Sitting there in the dark (we had lights like stree lights lighting up the wire rows and we were in the towers in the dark behind the lights) was pretty scary if you were not used to it. I kinda took to it as it was the easiest job around. For instance if a medivac helicoper was shot down and recovered we would have to work like 16hr days or longer on the flight line until she was back in the air. I had the opportunity to volunteer for permanant guard duty and I jumped at the chance. It was like only working a few hours a day. And we got good at it as we would learn every freaking bush out there. Well long story even longer (sorry bout that) The enemy for us was mostly getting hit with mortars and rockets. A few times we had sappers trying to get thru the wire and one night some son of a bitch took a shot at a few of us and I got the opportunity to feel what its like to have a 30 cal round wizz by your head in close proximity. But mostly it was a war where we didnt see the enemy we just heard him and felt him. When a mortar leaves its tube in the quiet dead of night you hear this distinct "plunk' sound. They lob mortars so there is often time for the sound to get to you before the round hits (at least thats my memory) The rockets came in fast and hard and you didnt hear them until (hopefully) they went over head. They were highly inaccurate. If you were charlie you'd want to hit the other end of the runway from where I was as you would have a better chance of getting kills due to the concentration of troops up there. And its the reason I think we had the bullseye on our building. To taunt charlie into taking a shot at us. He got real lucky one night as a rocket hit a smaller hanger that was full of expensive helicopter parts and blew it to shit. Rockets when they hit make a hell of an explosion.

Then there was as Breeeze mentioned the sounds of the helicopter blades as they pulled pitch. I was trained as a helicopter (huey) mechanic. So Id been around them both in Germany and my vacation in South East Asia. I'll never forget that sound and I even today have Cobras fly by every so often as I live in the country just inland from Camp Pendelton. What I remember vividly was that company of Shithooks next to us. If they came back from a mission and they had kills they would celebrate by making what would appear as a gun run at our runway only instead of getting shot up with mini guns they would just dive down at high speed (for a shithook) and pull pitch (twisting the rotor blades to grab more air) and that sound on a dual rotor aircraft was almost deafening. Really impressive.

But I digress. It was the sounds. When I got home there were times Id hear a car backfire Id dive for the floor. I hadnt been out a month or two and it happend to me while I was driving and I was headed for the floor on the passanger side. I coulda killed myself or someone else. Fast forward 40 years and out here in the country where they recently built a new resivoir and used explosives to remove the sides of a small mountain every afternoon. When the sound happened I would come clean outta my chair. Its as if you can learn to control the concious mind but theres shit buried in the "sub concious that is never going to go away. I think its inherent in all humans, you learn to duck or you die............ its all about self preservation.

Just had a thought I wanted to share and make this motorelated. A number of years ago I was racing at Carlsbad. Between races I stood along the fenceline watching another race. Two other old farts came up (also racers) and we started talking. Found out we were all Viet Vets. I started to laugh and asked " back when we were over there, could you guys have ever imagined at 20 years old that one day we'd be in our 50's and would be motorcycle racers?" go figure

Rest in peace, Dougie

Thanks for posting that Sandberm.

Thanks for sharing. It was a great read and must of been intense. Sad to hear another hero is gone.

Was working outside today, and when I came in there was a message on my phone from Dougies mom. I know Tommy has already started this thread, but she asked me to tell you guys about Dougies passing, she said it was important to him that all his moto-buddies to know soon as possible. I just wanted to relay her request. She sounded very sad so you guys please keep her in your thoughts.

Anyone have the vids of Dougie riding his mountain bike , riding backwards and doing tricks! He had some skills!

Hi Guys
I have asked the Higher Powers for a "Memorial Topic" area for posts just like this.

Hi Steve

With the recent posting http://www.vitalmx.com/forums/Non-Moto,21/Godspeed-Dougie,1272231

I got to thinking of how all of us from "Mike p's fresh dirt and then all the way through your site
Are getting older and this stuff is going to begin to happen, we lose internet / bench racing friends.

Another board I have been on since 1998 came up with a Memorial area :


As you can see we have only lost 7 people here since 98, but other members comments end up here and a lot of times

Family will log in down the road under the persons log in and Thank everyone.
It's all Good, a place for everyone to say goodbye etc.
Super Classy.


Take care

Tony Smith / Oldschool

RIP, Dougie. He was always a good dude to me.