Cecil John Doyle
Second Lieutenant Cecil J. “Danny” Doyle was a Marine Corps fighter pilot with VMF-121.
He was reported missing after a combat mission in the Solomon Islands on 7 November 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number O-9424
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
August 10, 1920
at Marshall, MN
Parents
Owen Patrick Doyle
Tresa Cecilia (Wright) Doyle
Education
Marshall High School
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Occupation & Employer
Student
Service Life
Entered Service
March 26, 1941 (enlisted)
April 6, 1942 (commission)
Home Of Record
Marshall, MN
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Owen Doyle
Military Specialty
Pilot
Primary Unit
VMF-121
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands / Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Navy Cross
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Doyle was credited with five confirmed aerial victories, earning “ace” status.
Danny was from Minnesota. He was a little fighting Irishman, dark, wiry, full of sauce and afraid of nothing. When he and Casey [Koller C. Brandon] were training at Wold-Chamberlain Field, Minneapolis (where they first met) Danny saved the lives of two boys who tired while swimming A year later he jumped into the ocean at San Diego and saved a girl's life. This was all routine to Danny, for he had been lifeguard at the city pool in Marshall, Minnesota for two seasons.... Danny came up through the Marshall high school and the State Teachers' College at Mankato. He worked is way through, but found time for the CAA ground and flight course that led him into the Navy.
Both boys were original members of the eight-man flight that became known as the Flying Circus. When everyone was given a nickname for radio communication in the air, Casey was tagged "Fool" and Danny "Ish"— the Foolish Twins. They reveled in the name. In camp they were inseparable, and they always flew together. "I have to go along and look after Casey," Danny always said, ignoring the fact that Casey was more than able to take care of himself.
Someone started the story back home that Doyle had been killed in the Midway battle. There were variations – he had crashed in the bay at San Diego, died in a midair crash at Honolulu, and drowned after taking off from a carrier. He got stacks of mail inquiring if the reports were true.
Danny was enchanted by the coconuts on Guadalcanal. "When I was a boy," he said, "Mother always had to hide the coconut from me so I wouldn't eat it all. Here we're camped right in the middle of a coconut grove and I can have all I want." He had great contempt for Japanese marksmanship. "Those goonies couldn't hit the broad side of a barn," he often remarked.
One day Danny's plane needed repairs and he couldn't go up. It was the first time he hadn't flown with Casey. That night we waited uncomfortably for a plane that hadn't come back. It was Casey's. I don't like to think of the expression on Danny's face. He quit his wisecracking abruptly and became grim and quiet. By that time he had official credit for five planes shot down. "Those goonies are going to pay if it's the last thing I do," he said bitterly. "I'm going to double my score for Casey."
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Second Lieutenant Cecil J. “Danny” Doyle, a fighter pilot assigned to VMF-121, arrived at Guadalcanal’s Henderson Field on 9 October 1942. He quickly earned a reputation as a top pilot, shooting down five enemy aircraft in the span of a week – spurred on by the loss of his best buddy, 2Lt. Koller “Casey” Brandon.
On 7 November 1942, the Cactus Air Force received word of a Japanese destroyer flotilla approaching Guadalcanal. Twenty-five Wildcat fighters, including Lieutenant Doyle in F4F-4 03467, intercepted the ships 120 miles offshore. “There were clouds, rain squalls, and… the [destroyers] were being covered by not less than 12 float Zeros and 6 float biplanes,” noted the MAG-23 War Diary. Marine pilots claimed nine enemy aircraft shot down, and the Wildcats flew along the column of ships, strafing and bombing as they went. Although four F4Fs failed to return, three pilots – Captain Joe Foss and Lieutenants Oscar Bate and John Maas – were rescued and soon back on duty.
Danny Doyle never made it back to Guadalcanal. Two pilots reported a wingless Wildcat that crashed into the sea; Lieutenant Thomas Furlow recounted that Doyle “squashed” while chasing a floatplane at low altitude. No trace of the pilot or aircraft was seen again, and Doyle was declared dead on 8 November 1943. He was posthumously promoted to Captain and awarded the Navy Cross for his exploits over Guadalcanal.
One day Danny himself turned up missing. A flight mate told of seeing a Grumman chasing a Zero right into the sea. That was three weeks after Casey went down. Danny, who had sworn to avenge his friends death, must have been overtrying that day. We missed those two boys. Thinking later of their short and tragic history, the high promise and the glory of their youth, we fought more savagely against the enemy.
Burial Information or Disposition
None; remains not recovered.
Memorials
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
Calvary Cemetery, Marshall, Minnesota
The USS Cecil J. Doyle (DE-368) was named in his honor.
Next Of Kin Address
Prewar address of the Doyle family.
Owen and Tresa moved to Fairfield, California, in the early 1940s.
Location Of Loss
Approximate location of the destroyer flotilla, “about 120 miles at 35o°” from Guadalcanal.
I found this in a letter written by my grandmother Myrtle Ehlers Caldwell (she grew up in Marshall MN, was married, and then lived in Sioux Falls SD). May 20, 1943 (written in a letter to Myrtle’s son, Fred Caldwell, who was stationed at Camp Shelby MS) “Talked to Mrs. Shakstad (Joe Foss’ mother-in-law) and she told me the Doyles got in touch with Joe. He had them come to the Shakstad’s and talked to them. Said they shouldn’t give up hope. Danny might be on some island. She said Joe says he was such a nice kid, always wise craciking to keep up everyone’s spirits.”
Hey Pam, my grandmother is Casey’s older brother. She passed before I was born, but I was wondering if you had a way to get in to contact with the Doyle’s? I’m trying to work on something for my Brandon side of the family.