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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Jimmie Doyle of Lamesa, a courageous |
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Texan who gave his life in defense of his country during World War |
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II, was finally laid to rest in his home state on April 25, 2009, |
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more than 64 years after he was killed in action; and |
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WHEREAS, Sergeant Doyle was an aerial gunner with the 424th |
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Squadron of the 307th Heavy Bombardment Group of the United States |
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Army Air Forces and completed numerous combat missions in the |
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Pacific theater; on September 1, 1944, the B-24 bomber on which he |
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was a crewmember was hit by antiaircraft fire while on a bombing run |
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over Koror in the Palau Islands; he and seven of his fellow aviators |
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died when the plane crashed into the ocean; three others parachuted |
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from the plane but perished in captivity after being captured by the |
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Japanese; and |
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WHEREAS, Though he died at age 25, Jimmie Doyle had |
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experienced much in his life; he was born on October 29, 1918, in |
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McKinney, the son of Tom and Mamie Doyle, and later moved to |
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Sweetwater; at age 17, in the midst of the Great Depression, he |
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joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and was sent to work in |
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Lamesa; there, he met Myrle Dean Wells, and the two were wed on |
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September 21, 1940; the couple welcomed the arrival of their son, |
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Tommy, in December of 1942, with Mr. Doyle supporting the family by |
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working as a stonemason in the area; in August of 1943, with his |
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country at war, he joined the armed forces; the following spring, he |
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received his orders to depart for combat duty in the Pacific; and |
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WHEREAS, The wreckage of Sergeant Doyle's plane went |
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unrecovered for decades; then, in the early 2000s, the remnants of |
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the submerged aircraft were located through the efforts of the Bent |
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Prop Project, a volunteer organization dedicated to returning the |
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remains of American service members who were lost during the air |
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battles over Palau; Bent Prop's discovery prompted the Joint |
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POW/MIA Account Command to conduct underwater recovery operations, |
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which ultimately resulted in the repatriation of Sergeant Doyle's |
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body; and |
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WHEREAS, Two descendants of the fallen airman have had a |
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personal connection to the recovery; Tommy Doyle, Jimmie's son, had |
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the opportunity to travel to Palau and participate in dive |
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operations on the submerged aircraft; U.S. Marine Captain Casey |
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Doyle, Tommy's son and Jimmie's grandson, officially escorted the |
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remains as they were returned to Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Jimmie Doyle was buried next to his |
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wife, Myrle, at Lamesa Memorial Park with full military honors, |
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including a flyover and a 21-gun salute; this was a fitting tribute |
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to a valiant member of the U.S. armed forces who made the ultimate |
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sacrifice for his country, and the citizens of Texas and the United |
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States owe him an eternal debt of remembrance for his brave service |
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in a time of war; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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Legislature hereby honor the life of Staff Sergeant Jimmie Doyle |
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and extend deepest condolences to the members of his family: to his |
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son, Tommy Doyle, and his wife, Nancy; to his grandchildren, Casey |
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and Brandi Doyle; to his sister, Pat Presfield; and to his other |
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relatives; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Sergeant |
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Jimmie Doyle. |