David W. Doyle (7 May 1924 – 19 February 2014) was a British-born American author, United States Army Veteran, and former

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

officer. Born at

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

, in

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

, Doyle was the son of Donald and Joyce Doyle (née Kennedy). The family moved to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, the capital of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, in 1925 and returned to London in 1932, and it was there that Doyle began to attend

Colet Court St Paul's Juniors (formerly Colet Court) is a private preparatory school for boys aged 7 to 13 in Barnes, London. It forms the preparatory department of St Paul's School, to which most Juniors pupils progress at the age of 13. The School was ...

, a prep school. In 1938 he went to

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a f ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. In 1942 he enlisted in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

, then in April 1943 transferred to the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

, serving in the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

as a driver and interpreter. In 1945 he was part of an OSS unit attached to the

18th Airborne Corps The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is referred to as "America' ...

and at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

was discharged at

Fort Logan Fort Logan was a military installation located eight miles southwest of Denver, Colorado. It was established in October 1887, when the first soldiers camped on the land, and lasted until 1946, when it was closed following the end of World War II ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. Doyle then attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, graduating in 1949. He joined the CIA in March 1949 and was in its Domestic Operations Division (Aliens Branch) until 1950, followed by two years in the

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Office. He then joined the Directorate for Plans (now the Directorate of Operations) and the Foreign Intelligence Staff, Projects Branch. In 1955 he transferred to the Far Eastern Division and from 1960 to 1961 was posted to the breakaway African state of Katanga, followed by two years in

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

. In 1963 he became

chief of station ''Chief of Station'' is a 2024 American action thriller film written by George Mahaffey, directed by Jesse V. Johnson and starring Aaron Eckhart, Olga Kurylenko, Alex Pettyfer, Daniel Bernhardt, Chris Petrovski, Nick Moran, Kris Johnson, and ...

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, where he remained until 1967, then was with the CIA's Soviet Bloc Division until a posting to

(1969-1971) and then to the Africa Division. He retired from the CIA in 1972 and was awarded the

Intelligence Commendation Medal The Intelligence Commendation Medal is awarded by the Central Intelligence Agency for the performance of especially commendable service or for an act or achievement significantly above normal duties which results in an important contribution to th ...

in 1975. In retirement Doyle became an energy consultant with the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...

and also an author. He lived in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

from 1980 up until his death. In 1960 he had been rescued from drowning off Waikiki Beach by a life guard, which inspired him to write to his book ''Rescue in Paradise'' (2001). He spoke five languages, and his fluency in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

was an especially significant influence on his career. His book ''Inside Intelligence / True Men and Traitors'' argues the continuing need for the CIA in an uncertain world. It gives a firsthand account of his own active service, including his time as chief of station in the Congo when

Patrice Lumumba Patrice Émery Lumumba ( ; born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa; 2 July 192517 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic o ...

was assassinated, revealing exactly what happened and who the killers were. The word 'traitors' in the book's title refers to a section on a number of those who betrayed the CIA, including

Aldrich Ames Aldrich Hazen Ames (; born May 26, 1941) is an American former Central Intelligence Agency, CIA counterintelligence officer who was convicted of espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union and Russia in 1994. He is serving a life sentence, without th ...

Selected publications

*''An Accurate Watch'' (William Morrow & Co., 1990) *''Bazhanov and the Damnation of Stalin'' (Ohio University Press, 1990; transl. and ed. from

Boris Bazhanov Boris Georgiyevich Bazhanov (; 9 August 1900 – 30 December 1982) was a secretary of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union who published memoirs about Stalin and his secrets. Bazhanov was the personal secretary of Soviet ...

)David W. Doyle
at Ohio University Press *''Inside Espionage: A Memoir of True Men and Traitors'' (2000, ) *''Rescue in Paradise: Oahu's Beaches & Their Guardians'' (Island Heritage, 2001)

Notes

External links

David W. Doyle
at openlibrary.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, David W. 1924 births 2014 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Princeton University alumni People educated at Colet Court People educated at Gresham's School British writers People of the Central Intelligence Agency People of the Office of Strategic Services Members of the United States Army Special Forces Recipients of the Intelligence Commendation Medal British emigrants to the United States