[buccaneer81]

David Johnston, 30-year-old volcanologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, was swept away by the catastrophic eruption of Mount St. Helens on the morning of May 18, 1980.

Swept away? Vaporized more likely.

[Gondring]

They didn’t find his body, but his trailer was smashed and parts were found years later.

He knew better than anyone else the danger of being there—he was warning others of the danger of a lateral blast—but he reluctantly filled in for a colleague that day.

He died in the exciting moment of doing what he loved.