Jerry Collins

I will always be indebted to Dennis for giving me the opportunity to teach Asian studies. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me and made my time with the university even more rewarding than it would have been had I not had that opportunity. He was a brilliant man and one of the best storytellers I have ever met. Aside from his impressive (and unique) academic background, he had a great deal of practical experience. The stories he told --- about putting the dossier together on Soloth Sar, or testifying in the Pentagon Papers case, or talking to Chou en-lai, or trying to convince President Nixon that the War Powers Act was not a bad thing, but a good thing --- were not only fascinating, but filled with insights that wound up in my lectures. He had an incisive mind that enabled him to get to the essence of an issue or to turn an argument on its head. I like to think that some of that wore off on me. He would explain to me the essay questions that he used in his classes. Great questions. Things I never would have thought of myself. I have been using his questions and questions like them in my classes ever since, and I often think of him when standing in front of a class. Dennis was one of a kind. He could read and write classical and modern Chinese, but he didn’t know how to type. He wrote his books and articles in pen. He had 57 pens. When I told him he should quit smoking, he said “But it’s my only vice --- aside from my humility.” I miss Dennis a lot and will always be grateful to him for the opportunity he gave me.

Christine Kikuchi

Dennis and I spent all of our breaks together on the back deck of Yokosuka Ed Center. I loved teaching at Yokosuka because it gave me the opportunity to hang out with him. He was the smartest man I've ever met and had a wonderful sense of humor. Anyone who knew Dennis knew about his fantastic background and his love for teaching. We all felt honored to be able to have a man of his experience teaching for UMUC - Asia, but that is just one of the reasons that UMUC - Asia is special - that we do have so many extraordinary teachers. Dennis, however, might have been our best and certainly was the brightest.

Dennis was unashamedly in love with his wife and talked about her all of the time. The week before he was brought into the hospital, he was worried about her flu and then he was brought in to the hospital too. He thought that he had the same flu and when I went to the hospital to see him, he was not worried about himself at all; he was worried about his wife. I was grateful that he died so quickly that he did not even know that was going to die. Not having Dennis in my life left a huge hole and the first time I went back to Yokosuka it felt strange and empty to be there.

Debra Rosenthal

Friends of Dennis might be interested to hear that he is portrayed in "The Post," the new film about the Washington Post's role in publishing the Pentagon Papers.  Dennis did indeed testify (unsuccessfully) that publication of information from that history of the Vietnam War threatened national security.  The New York Times summary of his role at the time can be found here:  https://mobile.nytimes.com/1971/06/22/archives/8-judges-to-sit-appeals-court-calls-vietnam-study-case-of-key.html

He was always kind, curious, open-hearted.  

Forrest Studebaker

Having not served further West (or is it East) than San Diego, the "Asian Division" is only a shadow of Joe Arden in my perspective. But the comments of Dennis Doolin's passing suggest that three off and on decades in EurAsia limited me to only knowing half of the most interesting people in UMUC.

Robert Bolland

I remember Dennis very well and was most unhappy to hear of his passing in February of 2004. He always seemed to have time for a chat, either in his Kadena Ed. Ctr. office or at the Kadena Snack Bar (The "Tiki"). At the "Tiki" I distinctly recall his always completing the Pacific Stars & Stripes crossword in ink, even the Sunday version. I frequently stopped by his KAB office when checking local UMUC mail early in the mornings and invariably found him at his desk at which time he would invite me in for a chat.

In 1987 I was fortunate to have one of my collected marine animals (a parasitic crustacean, an isopod found on scorpion fish, named after myself, Renocilla bollandi. Dennis shortly found out about this and penned a poem:

Reference: Williams and Williams. 1987. Three new species of Renocilla (Crustacea: Isopoda:    Cymothoidae), External Parasites of Coral Reef Fishes From the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. Proc.Biol.Soc.Wash. 100(3), 1987, pp 417-432.

Dennis, you're greatly missed!

Timothy Maga

Although I did my House Foreign Affairs Committee thing some years after Dennis left that neck of the woods, we knew some of the same "Inside-The-Beltway" policy wonk folks.  I remember our U.S.-Japan relations discussions with fondness, and I also remember his liking of a Japanese TV cartoon called "Doraemon."  Me too.  So, it wasn't unusual for us to be gabbing about the intracacies of U.S. military basing privileges in Japan, and the adventures of a magical Japanese space cat, at the same time.  Great memories, and of someone who made a difference in both academe and government service.