Douglas Campbell was born on June 7, 1896, in San Francisco, California. After graduating from Harvard University, he enlisted in the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps for flying training on May 18, 1917. Campbell completed ground school at the School of Military Aeronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then sailed to France to complete his flight training in July 1917. He was commissioned a 2nd Lt on September 29, 1917, and after finishing flight training, he joined the 94th Aero Squadron of the 1st Pursuit Group in March 1918. Lt Campbell was credited with the destruction of 6 enemy aircraft in aerial combat before being wounded in action and returning to the U.S. in June 1918. He returned to France in November 1918, and served on Occupation Duty in Germany before returning to the U.S. in January 1919. Capt Campbell left active duty on February 24, 1919, and joined the Air Service Officers' Reserve Corps on June 7, 1919. He died on December 16, 1990, and was buried at the Memorial Garden of First Presbyterian Church in Greenwich, Connecticut.

His 5th Distinguished Service Cross Citation reads:

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Douglas Campbell, First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action on June 5, 1918. Accompanied by another pilot, Second Lieutenant Campbell attacked two enemy battle planes at an altitude of 5,700 meters over Epley, France. After a spirited combat he was shot through the back by a machine-gun bullet, but in spite of his injury he kept on fighting until he had forced one of the enemy planes to the ground, where it was destroyed by artillery fire, and had driven the other plane back into its own territory.