David Alexander Johnston ( December 18 , 1949 – May 18 , 1980 ) was an American United States Geological Survey ( USGS ) volcanologist who was killed by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington . A principal scientist on the USGS monitoring team , Johnston was killed in the eruption while manning an observation post away on the morning of May 18 , 1980 . He was the first to report the eruption , transmitting " Vancouver ! Vancouver ! This is it ! " before he was swept away by a lateral blast . Despite a thorough search , Johnston 's body was never found , but state highway workers discovered remnants of his USGS trailer in 1993
1980 eruption
1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
David A. Johnston