03/06/2025
HB Lifeguard Legend Douglas D’Arnall Remembered for 35 Years of Public Service
By Mike Bartlett and Max Bowman
Douglas D’Arnall, former Secretary General of World Life Saving, was a legend in the international lifesaving community and served the City of Huntington Beach as an ocean lifeguard from 1956 until he retired as Assistant Lifeguard Chief in 1991. D’Arnall, a longtime resident of Huntington Beach, passed away March 2 at the age of 87 from natural causes with his wife and family by his side at his home in Roebuck, South Carolina.
Born in Glendale, CA, D’Arnall’s family moved to Costa Mesa where he later attended Orange Coast College from 1955-57. A natural athlete, D’Arnall loved baseball but the competition to make the pitching squad was fierce, so he joined the school’s water polo and swim teams at the urging of a new friend, Max Bowman. In 1956, Bowman, who worked as an ocean lifeguard for Huntington Beach, convinced D’Arnall to try out for ocean lifeguard. D’Arnall made the cut in Huntington Beach and began his career in lifesaving.
With a newfound love for the ocean and Huntington’s pristine coastline, D’Arnall moved to Huntington Beach and worked three summers as an ocean lifeguard. He quickly adapted to the surf and many challenges of this dynamic beach environment known today as “Surf City, USA.” Always a competitive athlete, D’Arnall excelled in bodysurfing often joining other guards with the surf was challenging. Mastering the surf, proved to be a valuable skill among guards. Although performing numerous rescues and preventative actions working towers, D’Arnall is credited for saving a man who was swept far offshore by a large rip current near the bluff area. With only swim fins and a flotation buoy called a torpedo can, D’Arnall swam several hundred yards offshore to reach the distressed swimmer. Using his torpedo can as flotation for the victim, D’Arnall swam the victim nearly ½ mile back to shore in adverse conditions. In those day, lifeguards did not have powered boats or skis for backup. The entire rescue took over 40 minutes to complete from start to finish and stands today as the most enduring rescue by any lifeguard in department to date.
Married in 1961, D’Arnall had three children and raised his family in Huntington Beach. In 1962, D’Arnall was promoted to lieutenant. As the city’s population and beach visitation exploded in numbers, Lt. D’Arnall played a leadership role in the development of the city’s lifeguard department. Under the control of then Chief Vincent Moorhouse who transformed the department, Lt. D’Arnall used his educational prowess to assist the Chief’s goals. Lt. D’Arnall bought a typewriter, took it to work and began documenting various reports and cementing his written talents as a key administrator for the growing Lifeguard Department. Lt. D’Arnall is credited for writing the city’s first Lifeguard Training Manual, General Orders, and Policies and Procedures Manual to advance the Lifeguard Department’s mission and professionalism.
“Lt. D'Arnall was my training officer back in June of 1962. We had eight trainees four of which would be first time guards. The other four had worked in 1961, but there was no official training before 1962. Both he and Capt. Bowman were excellent instructors, setting the stage for future official training programs that included lifesaving techniques, tower work, first aid and physical training, including pier jumping, run-swim-runs and pier swims,” recalled Bill Richardson, who later rose to the rank of Marine Safety Division Chief. “One incident stands out in my mind. It was late May 1963. I was working in Tower Zero on the pier and at about 8 AM, I spotted a fully clothed woman entering the water about 150 yards north of the pier. Lt. D'Arnall, the only other "guard” on duty that early in the morning, was in Headquarters doing his routine early morning paperwork. I called and advised him that it looked like the woman was possibly attempting su***de as she was entering the water in her street clothes and was swimming out through the surf. Lt. D’Arnall rolled Code III to the scene, immediately entered the water and sprinted to the victim. catching her as she went underwater just outside of the surf line. He secured her and brought her back to shore safely. His watermanship and lifeguard skills, definitely saved that young woman's life.”
In 1964, Lt. D’Arnall helped create the Huntington Beach Surf Lifesaving Association with Capt. Bowman. Together with Chief Moorhouse, they were the Founding Fathers with Lt. D’Arnall serving as the chapter’s first President. As a 501 c3 nonprofit, with a mission is to educate the public on beach safety to prevent drowning and advance the lifesaving profession, the association became the blueprint for creating the National Surf Lifesaving Association (known today as the United States Lifesaving Association). Historically significant, Chief Moorhouse, Capt. Bowman and Lt. D’Arnall were the original Charter Members for NSLSA along with Bob Burnside (Zuma), Dick Hazard (San Clemente), Don Rohrer (LA City) and Jim Richards (Santa Monica). All widely respected, lifesaving leaders in their perspective agencies.
Networking with other agencies yielded tremendous knowledge and advancement for the surf lifesaving profession by sharing knowledge and experiences. Developing standards as benchmarks to gain professionalism to better serve their communities in drowning prevention was one of D’Arnall’s goals. He is credited for authoring one of the first ever lifeguard training manuals in marine safety made available through the lifesaving associations.
In 1964, Lt. D’Arnall was tasked with studying and analyzing the first ever Junor Lifeguard Program created in LA County. After months of researching, he drafted a similar model for Huntington Beach which was implemented in that summer. Today, this premier youth educational program is vital to recruiting and training future ocean lifeguards and was at that time as well. Lt. D’Arnall’s fingerprints in creating this program is part of his legacy and the city’s success in preventing drowning and beach related accidents.
In 1969, Lt. D’Arnall was promoted to captain taking on more responsibility in managing the day-to-day operations as the Lifeguard Department which changed to the Department of Harbours and Beaches. Huntington Harbour was then developed with marinas, boat launch ramps, bayfront homes and beaches. The city tasked Chief Moorhouse as the Harbormaster, and the lifeguards implemented a 24-hour harbour patrol to provide protection to both Huntington Harbour and Sunset Beach communities. Capt. D’Arnall was instrumental in providing lifeguard training to both recurrent and permanent lifeguard staff.
“Capt. D’Arnall was a great leader,” explained Richardson. “He led our crew by example even while handling almost all the clerical work, keeping track of our statistics, hours of work, emergency reports and so forth. Later in our careers, he was more like a direct Supervisor, assigning various work schedules and making sure we were in line with Department policies and procedures. He taught us all the necessary skills to later become supervisors and managers in the Marine Safety Division. He was one of our key mentors in the early stages of our careers.”
In 1984, Capt. D’Arnall was promoted to Beach Services Manager (Assistant Lifeguard Chief) overseeing lifeguard/marine safety operations; parking and camping; beach maintenance and equipment repair. He drafted the Department’s Annual Report showcasing beach rescue and medical aid statistics and coining the phrase “the area from the pier south to Beach Blvd. is arguably the busiest one mile stretch of beach in the world.” He also led the 1984 Junior Guard Exchange Team to New Zealand and acted as a host ambassador to many international lifesaving dignitaries who came to learn about Huntington’s lifeguard operations. Since Huntington Beach became the gold-standard for other agencies around the world to emulate, D’Arnall took on the role of Secretary General of World Life Saving along with Bowman who was the organization’s President. Although D’Arnall retired from the City in 1991, he continued serving the World Life Saving until 1993 when it merged into the International Lifesaving Federation.
In 1995, D’Arnall moved to North Carolina to spend time with his family and later re-married to his wife Judy in 2001. For the next twenty years, D'Arnall would connect with his lifesaving colleges while attending lifesaving conferences from time to time and annual golf trips that coincided with lifesaving educational events. Bowman, his lifelong friend and colleague, remained in Huntington Beach and organized the Annual Doug D’Arnall Golf Event for nearly 15 years in a row to entice the ever-competitive D’Arnall back to Huntington Beach.
Upon D’Arnall’s retirement, Capt. Richardson was ultimately the Marine Safety Division Chief the last of the “Old Guard” era. “I was fortunate enough to work in all phases of the Marine Safety service including Recurrent Tower Guard, Permanent Lifeguard, Rescue Boat Operator, Marine Safety Sergeant, working as a relief supervisor in both the Lifeguard and Harbor Divisions. D’Arnall’s influence, mentorship and leadership contributed greatly to enabling me to have a career that spanned 32 years with the City,” said Richardson. “But more importantly, his leadership and example helped lay the groundwork for one of the most successful lifeguard services in California.”
In January 2024, D’Arnall and his wife returned to Huntington Beach Lifeguard Headquarters (now the Fire Department Marine Safety Division) to complete research for his new book “Challenged”, which chronicles his experiences during the years of his tenure. Bowman and D’Arnall had the foresight to create newspaper scrap books spanning decades and documenting the Lifeguard Department’s legacy, which assisted him in writing his book and confirming facts. These stories are now officially part of a digitized archive at the County of Orange Hall of Records.
A key administrative figure helping to transform the beach patrol into a year-round, professional marine safety operation, D’Arnall memorialized Lifeguard Training Manuals and authored the first lifeguard training book in Marine Safety. As one of the first advocates of the Junior Lifeguard Program designed to educate our youth and recruit future ocean lifeguards, D’Arnall influenced hundreds if not thousands of lives spanning five decades.
A Charter Member in the local, regional, national, and World Life Saving Associations, D’Arnall served honorably as Secretary General of World Life Saving from 1988-1993. For his dedicated term, he was recognized as an Honorary Life Member in all four organizations. Conferred in 1994 a Grand Knight in the Order of Life Saving by the International Life Saving Federation (only three other Americans hold this honor), D’Arnall is well known in lifesaving circles around the globe from England to New Zealand as an “ambassador to world lifesaving.” His leadership helped shape a profession that is respected for its heroism and commitment to public safety.
D’Arnall is survived by his wife, Judith Sawyer D’Arnall; sons Dennis and Darrell D’Arnall; daughter Dorlynn Gallego; and eight grandchildren. His family, friends, and colleagues remember him as a devoted husband, father, and a towering figure in lifesaving history.
A celebration of Douglas D’Arnall’s life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Huntington Beach Surf Lifesaving Association, a nonprofit he helped establish to advance drowning prevention and public education (Venmo ). A Lifeguard Scholarship will be created in his name.
Author Notes:
Mike Bartlett is a Marine Safety Captain for Huntington Beach Fire Department and former Editor of the American Lifeguard Magazine.
Max Bowman is (retired) Director of Community Services and Lifeguard Chief for Huntington Beach, and former President of World Life Saving.
Bill Richardson is (retired) Marine Safety Division Chief and former President of United States Lifesaving Association.
