DEREK E. HOLMQUIST, LCDR, USN
Derek Holmquist '73
Lucky Bag
From the 1973 Lucky Bag:
Derek Ervin Holmquist
McLean, Virginia
Getting to know him isn't easy, but the effort is well worth it. When not chained to a take-home test or tearing up the roads on a Friday afternoon, Derek is a very warm and sincere person. Before Hank, D.C., and "Burnsie", Derek became a legend for his burning academic curiosity.
Derek Ervin Holmquist
McLean, Virginia
Getting to know him isn't easy, but the effort is well worth it. When not chained to a take-home test or tearing up the roads on a Friday afternoon, Derek is a very warm and sincere person. Before Hank, D.C., and "Burnsie", Derek became a legend for his burning academic curiosity.
Loss
Derek was lost on April 1, 1985 when the A-6 Intruder he was piloting crashed in Panama during a training mission.
From Daily News of Bowling Green, Kentucky on April 3, 1985:
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Aircraft from the carrier Nimitz along with Air Force and Army units searched a large area of jungle and mountains in Panama for two Navy fliers whose A-6 Intruder jet disappeared. The men were identified as Lt. Cmdr. Derek Holmquist, 35, of McLean, the pilot, and Lt. Glenn Ziegler, 25, of Upper Darby, Pa., the bombardier-navigator. Holmquist and Ziegler, missing since Monday, are assigned to Attack Squadron 35 based at Oceana Naval Air Station.
As reported on the Aviation Safety Network site of the Flight Safety Foundation:
A-6E Intruder BuNo. 161673/AJ-503 of VA-35, US Navy, crashed near coast of Venezuela during training mission Apr 1, 1985 North West of Santiago, Panama while operating from USS Nimitz (CVN-68). Plane and its two crew has never been found.
From 28 March to 12 Apr 1985, due to heightened tensions resulting from fighting against Marxist rebels in Central America, the USS Nimitz steamed off the eastern coast of that isthmus for “U.S. Naval Presence Operations.”
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Derek graduated from McLean High School in 1969. SC rep 1; French Club 1; California Scholastic Federation 1, 2; Football 1; JV Football 2; Varsity Football 3, 4; JV Wrestling 1; Varsity Wrestling 2, 3; Track 1, 3; Varsity Club 3, 4; French Honor Society 3; National Honor Society 3, 4.
He was on the rugby team at the Naval Academy.
His obituary in Shipmate said he was survived by his wife, Beth, daughter, Kristen, and son, Carl; it also reported he was from California.
He has a memory marker in Arlington National Cemetery.
Remembrances
From Find A Grave:
Derek was my blood brother -- the only one I ever had. I only knew him as a neighbor for about 2 years, but we were in Cub Scouts together, and spent hours in each others company. We were also about 12 days apart in age. RIP old blood brother
J Butz, 6 Mar 2016
Photographs
From his junior-year high school yearbook
From his high school yearbook
Related Articles
Glenn Ziegler '81 was also lost in this crash.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.