WELCOME HOME SSGT JIMMIE DOYLE: WWII Vet's remains come home 65 years later

The following is an account of the retunr of SSgt Jimmie Doyle's remians to the United States after 65 years.

Alii, Joe -

I'm safely back home in Pennsylvania, after what was probably the happiest, most emotional weekend of my life.

Pat, Flip, Wil, Warren, Molly, Dan, and Val and her husband Jimbob all made it. We came to Texas from all corners of the country. And we got to spend a lot of time with Tommy and Nancy.

Tommy and Nancy's son, Casey, looked magnificent in his Marine uniform, as he served as the official escort of his grandfather's remains from JPAC to Texas.

There was an Army honor guard at the church where Jimmie's funeral was held, and they also came out to the cemetery to conduct a service there. The funeral procession was made up of several cars and a large police escort from the church to the cemetery. It ran for about three miles, through the town of Lamesa and out through the countryside to the cemetery. We were amazed (but I guess we shouldn't have been surprised) to discover that all along the way, the streets and roads were lined with people - mostly families - who came and brought their children to watch and wave flags and salute and cry and honor Jimmie, as the town welcomed back the young man who left home for the last time 65 years ago.

Many tears were shed by all of us, but they were mostly tears of joy to see Jimmie's life come fill circle, and to see Tommy and Nancy and their beautiful family finally bringing Jimmie back where he belongs, laid to rest beside his wife, in Lamesa.

The honor guard gave Jimmie a 21-gun salute. They were impressive in their military precision and their dedication to honoring their fallen comrade, who died many decades before any of these young men and women were born. The Army Chaplain from Fort Hood did an excellent job. The family gatherings at Tommy and Nancy's, to which we were all invited, were very much like Palauan family gatherings...no matter how far away people may live from each other, their family bonds are clear and beautiful and it was an honor to be allowed to watch, and to join them in their celebration.

But for me, the best part of the whole weekend really goes back a bunch of years - it was the feeling that I had that throughout the weekend, YOU were present - REALLY PRESENT - in spirit. By far the most moving part of the funeral service to me (see the attached photo) was when Tommy got up to say a few words. He talked about his father, and about his family, but then he pulled out a piece of paper and read something to us that I think each person in that church will remember forever. He read us the letter that you sent to him, in which you talked about explaining to your son the reasons why his name is Doyle. You're an amazing person, Joe. Without you, Jimmy would not have come home. We all know it, and Tommy and Nancy know it, and now everyone else knows it, too. And I'm convinced that some part of you was there with us this weekend in Lamesa - at the church and at the cemetery - to watch Jimmie come home.

Thanks, Joe, for everything that you've done for BentProp, and that you've done for all of us individually, and thanks for being a friend. It's an honor to know you and to consider you a friend, and to have had this chance to share in something so deeply moving, for which you deserve so much credit.

Meral ma sulang, my friend.

- Reid

Sunday, 26 April 2009 10:55

A photo of World War II veteran Jimmie Doyle welcomes guests to his funeral service at First United Methodist Church, Saturday in Lamesa. The B-24 bomber in which Jimmie Doyle was flying in was shot down over the island nation of Palau in September 1944.

Members of the Fort Hood Honor Guard escort the casket of World War II veteran Jimmie Doyle from First United Methodist Church after a funeral service that hundreds attended Saturday in Lamesa. The B-24 bomber in which Jimmie Doyle was flying in was shot down over the island nation of Palau in September 1944.

Hero makes it Home: World War II veteran laid to rest 65 years after plane crash

Lubbock online

Staff Sgt. Jimmie Doyle, whose warplane crashed into the ocean off Palau in 1944, was given full military honors, along with a hero's homecoming, during funeral and graveside services Saturday at Lamesa.

The location of the plane was unknown for 60 years, then found under 70 feet of water in 2004 by the BentProp Project that searches for soldiers missing in action.

The plane and the crewmen still aboard were recovered in 2008, and Doyle's identification was completed earlier this year.

His grandson, U.S. Marine Capt. Casey Doyle, recently escorted Staff Sgt. Doyle's casket from Hawaii to his hometown of Lamesa, and to the First United Methodist Church where he and his wife, Myrle, had attended services and were married in 1940.

His son, Tommy Doyle, hadn't reached his second birthday when his father's plane went down from anti-aircraft fire over the Koror Island target area, a part of Palau.

Staff Sgt. Doyle, assistant engineer on the Army Air Forces B-24 bomber, had been moved from tail gunner to a nose-turret gunner position by the time the plane began its final mission on Sept. 1, 1944. When ground fire struck the left wing, the plane began tumbling on its descent to the ocean.

Tommy never knew his father, of course, but in recent years came to know much about what he was like through letters that his mother, Myrle, had kept - and had kept privately - before she passed away in 1992.

He mentioned the letters in 2005. "There was a lot of indication of how much he loved her - in every letter."

In the letters home, there was often the mention of his son. He might even have envisioned him growing up to play football for Texas Tech, and later to become a coach, as he did.

But he could never have known that one day his grandson, a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps and a two-tour veteran of a then unimaginable war, would one day guard his passage home.

In the last letter home, on the evening before the final mission, Staff Sgt. Doyle again spoke of home and his love for his wife, as he always did:

"Just a few lines, for you know I love you too much to sleep without saying goodnight," he wrote.

"Sweet, my mind is nearly a blank tonight, for I am all taken up with thoughts of you and home. Maybe it won't be too long until the day when I will be home, and we will be together again ... Gee, what a glimpse of you would be worth!

"Sweet Darling, tomorrow is a busy day, and I have to get up early ... you know I love you with all my heart and will for always.

"Goodnight, Sweetheart."

His granddaughter, Brandi Doyle, said on Saturday, "I am touched by the outpouring of support and emotion from the people ... strangers have called and told how much this story has touched them, and I know how it touches our family."

In the church services, an honor guard brought the flag-draped casket into the sanctuary after the family had been seated. Army Chaplain Col. Michael Lembke spoke of the event as both a homecoming and a celebration of life and service.

Along a funeral procession route to Lamesa Memorial Park, a group of people had gathered on a sidewalk to hold up American flags. Then, a little farther on, children could be seen waving flags and smiling. Two women at one location held a large flag between them, and a gathering at a Disabled Veterans facility had an assortment of flags.

For most of a mile, group after group were waving flags. Children in the groups held flags high and waved to the cars going by. The show of patriotism and honor for a fallen veteran would have been fitting for a general.

While making the arrangements for services, Tommy and his wife, Nancy, had faced a concern about how Jimmie's burial could be done in proximity to Myrle's gravesite. There was no space left nearby.

But a kind of walkway leading to a garden area began beside the existing plot, and cemetery officials simply took a portion from that for the new site.

The First United Methodist Church of Lamesa was a constant in the lives of the couple. It's where they attended church, where they were baptized, where they were married, and where their funeral services were held.

In accordance with the Christian faith they shared, they are in life now. And that which was their earthly dwelling for a time is sleeping, side by side, near a garden walkway, a little way southwest of Lamesa.

After 65 years, Staff Sgt. Doyle is home.

The B-24 bomber in which Jimmie Doyle was flying was shot down over the island nation of Palau in September 1944. His remains were laid to rest Saturday afternoon in Lamesa after recently being discovered. GQ magazine wrote a very interesting article entitled: Leave No Man Behind, you can check it out at link below........

LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND
Since World War I, 88,000 Americans have disappeared at war, never to be seen again. But our government has never stopped trying to find them. This is the story of one search—for a B-24 bomber shot down over the tiny island nation of Palau in September 1944—and the extraordinary effort to bring those bodies home.

Wild Thing's comment......

God bless the men that fly and fight. This is such a touching story. Welcome home Staff Sgt. Jimmie Doyle.

Read more: Theodore's World

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