30 Nebraskaland • November 2023
.S. Navy Ensign John Doyle's chances of surviving World
War II seemed bleak on Nov. 25, 1944, as he struggled to
hold his burning dive bomber on target over the South
China Sea," writes Samuel Van Pelt. "While attacking a
Japanese heavy cruiser, anti-aircraft fi re damaged his plane,
but Doyle still managed to release his bomb and score a hit
on the ship."
Back home in Lincoln, Nebraska, Doyle's parents, Lewis
("Lum") and Mary, received a telegram saying their 20-year-
old son, also known as Dugie, was missing in action. Later,
they received a letter from Captain Dixie Kiefer, commander of
Dugie's aircraft carrier, the USS Ticonderoga. By coincidence,
the captain was an old friend of Lum's. He wrote:
"It was the most heroic case I have seen on this trip
and was over and above the call of duty. His plane
caught fi re at 9,000 feet from anti-aircraft. Instead of
getting over friendly natives and using the parachute,
knowing that the cruiser was the biggest type and a
very important target, he went on down and scored a
direct hit, crippling it so others could sink it. He has
been recommended and will receive the Navy Cross.
He then landed in the water and was seen by the rest
to get clear and in a rubber boat."
Shot Down in World War II
By David L. Bristow, History Nebraska
'U
A Curtiss "Helldiver" circles above an aircraft carrier in the South Pacifi c, January 1945. U.S. NAVY PHOTO, 80-G-320999
