LCDR DEREK E. HOLMQUIST, USN

Class 1973

Born March 15, 1951

Died April 1, 1985

Age 34

Hometown McLean, Virginia

Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1973 Lucky Bag:

Derek Ervin Holmquist

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.

Other Information

From Aviation Safety Network:

A-6E Intruder BuNo. 161673/AJ-503 of VA-35, US Navy. Crashed on a remote jungle mountainside during a night low level training mission on Apr 1, 1985 North West of Santiago, Panama while operating from USS Nimitz (CVN-68). LCDR Derrick Holmquist (Pilot) and LT Glen Ziegler (B/N) lost. Search and Rescue efforts were not successful in identifying a crash location.

In May of 2019, two expat researchers in Panama hired a local villager to photograph aircraft parts he had seen while hunting. The photographs correlated the wreckage to the missing A6. That same month, the Secretary of Defense tasked the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency with researching, investigating, and recovering the two missing crew members. AFMES was tasked with identification.

In June of 2019, and expedition was led to attempt to reach the site. Safety considerations halted that effort.

In February and March of 2020, DPAA created a helicopter landing zone on the steep mountainside and began work to survey the site. Dangerous weather conditions and the global pandemic halted operations. In April of 2021, DPAA restarted contracting efforts and close coordination with government of Panama to conduct archaeological work on the site.

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 team¹ at the Naval Academy.

His obituary in The Washington Post 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