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It is not often a father is accorded the honor, by a daughter-in-law, of writing a memorial for her husband, his son. I consider this an unselfish gift to me on my Julie's part, for like Douglas' mother, she and I were, and are, exceedingly proud of him.</p>
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In approaching this labor of love, it has occurred to me that you, his classmates, his friends, might wish to know something of his childhood, of his youth before going to the Point, of the boy that grew to be a man.</p>
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Douglas, as he has always been to me, (Doug to his later friends) grew up on a farm devoted to raising thoroughbred horses, and producing the necessary feed for them and for the people on the farm. He had little companionship with boys his own age. Even when school started, the farm called him back as soon as classes were over. He and his younger sister became completely self sufficient. Being always thrown with older people, he adapted himself to them, became completely at home with them, and thought of them as his friends. With this background, he developed an independence of thought and spirit very early in life.</p>
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There is an incident I think back on, when Douglas was about six, which illustrates this independence of spirit and also his complete lack of fear. We had a stallion that had recently come to me with a reputation as a man-killer and showing all signs of it. I allowed no one into his stall except the stud groom and myself. One day as we were returning from an inspection trip, we saw a group of people gathered on the lawn in front of the stallion barn. To our horror, we saw that Douglas had that stallion out and was showing him. Incredibly, the horse, for once, was behaving like a perfect gentleman. While Douglas never repeated that performance, his independence and self reliance, or should I say hard-headedness, remained.</p>
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His ability to handle and show the stud came from a marvelous understanding of animals, and later of people. He was in complete sympathy with them. As he grew older and was allowed to break yearlings and later gallop and work them (before he became too heavy), that sympathetic understanding between boy and mount became ever more pronounced. He never had to fight a horse. His complete lack of fear also became more evident.</p>
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As he took on farm responsibilities, he showed an equally sympathetic understanding with the men and that ability to have them follow his orders without having to “fight them” or raise his voice. In his handling of people, Douglas learned that a man's worth did not depend on the color of his skin, but on his knowledge and ability. He never forgot that. He learned never to ask a man to do something he could not do or would not be willing to do himself. We know he never forgot that either.</p>
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Douglas developed an inherent kindness, a desire to help and do more than his part. He learned to enjoy hard work and difficult situations. They were challenging. That, I am certain, is why he elected the Infantry and then became a Ranger and paratrooper. His Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Ranger tab, and paratroop insignia were his proudest decorations. He reported that his first Beast Barracks was a “ball”; he loved every minute of it.</p>
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Possibly because on a breeding farm one is brought so close to the start of life and sometimes to the end of it, Douglas early developed a deeply religious nature. The greatest punishment I could inflict on him as a child was not to allow him to go to church with us. That punishment was rarely evoked. As he grew older, his great joy was serving as an acolyte. On his rare vacations from West Point, he would always ask permission to take back those duties. He never outgrew this deep religious feeling.</p>
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At the Military Academy, and later in the Service, the most rewarding experience for Douglas was the many wonderful friends he made: friends at the Point; friends at his various posts in Germany and Belgium; and friends that he made later with his wife Julie during their year at Wellington, India. He would never tire of telling me about those friends, about you. He was inordinately proud of his Service, of his friends, of his officers and of his "troopers.” I use the word "troopers,” as each was an individual to him. Fortunately, before going back to Vietnam for his second tour, he had an opportunity to see his infant daughter, Margaret Douglas. That also was a great joy to him.<br />
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I hope I have given you, his friends, a picture of the boy I knew. Knowing him is to know why he had to put in for a second tour in Vietnam and to know why he had to be forward with his men. He has joined that Long Gray Line of which he and all of us are so justly proud. With them, he will live with us, in our hearts.</p>
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Go Forward in God. In the Name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Ghost, Amen.</p>
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<em>—Charles Watkins Williams</em></p>