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hiding out in an isolated bay 7 miles distant. Doyle and
his crewman went to join them. Doyle urged Merrill to
come along. At the bay, Doyle argued, they would stand a
better chance of rescue. But Merrill remained at his remote
command post to await the promised return of General
Douglas MacArthur to the Philippines.
At the bay, Doyle and the others signaled passing U.S. planes.
"When they came over, we would catch them with the mirror
and get their attention. Then we would write stuff in great big
letters in the sand, like 'food,' 'fever' and the code word for a
rescue plane in the navy, 'Dumbo.'" One day, an army A-20
zoomed the beach but didn't make it up over the hills.
"He stalled out and crashed. Oh God, the plane's ammunition
was going off for about three hours." The next day, Jan. 10,
1945, two of the men on the beach climbed the hill to bury the
plane's crew. It was then that a Navy PBY "Catalina" fl ying
boat landed in the bay.
"They must've set the world's dash record coming down that
hill. The natives then rowed us in a wooden bark or hollowed
log canoe out to the PBY, and we all got aboard."
Doyle and the others were soon back with the U.S. fl eet off
the eastern shore of Leyte, where three of the fi ve men were
pronounced fi t to "rejoin their outfi ts or go home."
But Doyle was sick with malaria. He argued with the
doctor, but was not allowed to board the transport plane with
the others.
The transport crashed soon
after takeoff , killing all on board.
"I would have been on that
plane if I hadn't had malaria or
had won that argument with the
doctor … It was from an Anopheles
mosquito, and it saved my life."
Back home in Lincoln, Doyle
went on to a distinguished career
as an attorney and as president of
the Lincoln Council on Alcoholism
and chairman of the National
Council on Alcoholism. When he
died in 2013, he was known more
for "his life serving others" (in the words of a Lincoln Journal
Star headline) than for his Navy Cross.
Abiding by Doyle's wishes, Van Pelt withheld the 1993
interview from publication during Doyle's lifetime. Nebraska
History Magazine printed the full interview in 2014. You can
fi nd it by searching "Dugie Doyle" at history.nebraska.gov
N
Visit History Nebraska's website at history.nebraska.gov.
Doyle receiving the Navy Cross from Rear
Adm. Arthur C. Davis during Oct. 26,
1945, ceremonies at the University
of Nebraska. Capt. M. D. Matthews,
commander of the university's
naval ROTC program, left, was also
decorated for wartime service.
COURTESY OF THE DOYLE FAMILY
John R. Doyle COURTESY OF
CHICK THORNE AND THE COUNTRY
CLUB OF LINCOLN
ear
