Richard W. Doust, a businessman, philanthropist and war hero, will be awarded an honorary PhD. in Science by SUNY Upstate University of New York at the Commencement ceremony in 2007.
A Syracuse native, Doust is a member of a distinguished family of eight. "Doust doctors" who have been affiliated with SUNY Upstate. He serves as Chair of the Finance Committee of SUNY Upstate's Medical Alumni Association and has provided major financial support for various programs that directly benefit students in the College of Medicine. He established SUNY Upstate's Alfred W. Doust Endowed Program in Otolaryngology to commemorate his father, a 1935 alumnus of SUNY Upstate's College of Medicine who served as a professor and Chair of SUNY Upstate's Department of Otolaryngology from 1946 to 1983.
Doust received his Bachelor's Degree from the University of San Francisco in 1966 and his Master's Degree in International Studies from Golden Gate University in 1982. He played baseball for the Dons from 1963 to 1964. He served in the Vietnam War as a naval aviator with the U.S. Marine Corps and received the Combat Action Ribbon, and the Air Medal with Bronze Star for other Vietnam War combat. He was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on July 25th, 1969 for heroism in an aerial flight on February 23rd 1969.
First Lieutenant Doust was co-pilot of a CH-46D helicopter from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263 on a night medical evacuation mission in Quang Nam Province in the Republic of Vietnam. The landing zone they were sent to was only 30 feet wide and was surrounded by tall trees. A previous attempt to extract the wounded from this zone was aborted due to heavy enemy fire. On approach to the landing zone they encountered a heavy volume of automatic weapons fire from enemy forces. Using their airmanship skills they landed and evacuated the nine wounded Marines from the landing zone, and flew the helicopter to the First Medical Battalion hospital west of the city of Danang. Shortly after landing and offloading the wounded, the helicopter's heavily damaged rotor head and transmission seized from loss of lubricating oil, and the blades came to an abrupt halt.
After leaving the Marine Corps he continued in the Aviation Field with Pyramid Airlines in Egypt, International Aviation Development Company in Malta, and with World Airways in California and Yemen.
He was a founder of Cirrus Capital, a commercial aircraft leasing firm, and a principal in Pegasus Aviation. He finished his aviation career, after 31 years, in 1998 (National Air and Space Museum).
He has worked as a licensed stock and commodity broker, operations coordinator for International Aviation Development Company and Pyramid Airlines and as the director of Aircraft Marketing and Air Agreements for World Airways. His current business ventures are as the General Manager of a commercial forest, Tutira Forest LLC, and vineyards located on the north and south islands of New Zealand, respectively (SUNY University).
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