Douglas L. (Doug) Williams from Manhattan, Kansas enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on 12 Nov l954. He was accepted into class 63A of the USAF Officer Candidate School. Prior to OCS at Lackland AFB, Texas, he had been stationed at Parks AFB (Basic Training), Lowery AFB (Tech School Flexible Turrets Student and Tech Instructor), Walker AFB (SAC B-36 and B-52 Turret Mech), and Amarillo AFB (SAC Combat Crewmember – B-52 D model Tail Gunner).
After OCS, Doug went to Lowry AFB (9/62-6/63) for AVIONICS school. Then he found assignments at Richards – Gebaur AFB(7/63-12/64) in Fighter Aircraft maintenance; Walker AFB (12/64 – 12/66) in Bomber maintenance; Vietnam – Nha Trang (12/66 – 12/67); and Patrick AFB (1/68 – 6/72) where he became involved with NASA and the APOLLO program as a Mission Coordinator on the Apollo Range Instrumented Aircraft (ARIA). Finally he was assigned to the Air Force Weapons Laboratory, High Energy Laser Division, at Kirkland AFB from which he retired in 1975.
Doug and his wife Sandra Kay are now divorced, though neighbors, in Roswell, New Mexico. They had two children, Patricia Kay and David Douglas. They now have three grandchildren, Elena, Kyle and Evan.
Since l984 he has been working in the theoretical world of time and space, focusing on Time Energy as a system. This work stems from his discovery of synchrotron radiation naturally occurring at the earth’s surface level. The effort to photograph and record this phenomenon continues despite medical interruptions.
He follows with interest, the development of the Air Forces’ 747 Airborne Laser aircraft, which he conceptualized in Dec 1974. One of his favorite memories is that of being the first test conductor to fire the first laser downrange at the Weapons Lab’s 3 kilometer laser range, south of Kirtland. (Shades of Star Trek!)
Although the laser cited was a small ranging laser fired through the primary optics, the Walter Mitty factor, (Doug was famous for this), still brings joy. And in good OCS tradition, the test was unauthorized!
Recently being considered for triple bypass, Doug is undergoing chelation therapy in preparation. He regrets being unable to join the rest of the class for this reunion, but sends warm regards to all and best wishes for the future.