Danny played out his final hand at Cassino.

Daniel Thomas Doyle was born in Santa Cruz, California, on December 19, 1919, to Daniel and Mary Doyle. He grew up in a home on Bay Street in Santa Cruz and attended local schools. About 1933 he enrolled in Chaminade High School, played basketball for the "Panthers" and in the Knights of Columbus basketball league. After three years of high school, Danny left Chaminade to work for the Monterey Bay Lumber Company.

On December 12, 1942, Doyle was inducted into the US Army as a private. He completed basic training at Camp Roberts, California, and was probably assigned to the 36th Infantry Division that shipped overseas in April 1943. After a short tour in North Africa, Private First Class Doyle and his unit were sent to the Italian Front. On September 9, 1943, he fought during the invasion at Salerno, was wounded and returned to North Africa for recuperation.

After forty-five days of hospitalization, Danny Doyle returned to his unit as it was preparing for an assault on Monte Cassino.

“On February 15 [1945] the monastery, high on a peak overlooking the town of Cassino, was destroyed by American B-17, B-25, and B-26 bombers. Two days after the bombing, crack German paratroopers poured into the ruins to defend it. From January 17 to May 18, it was assaulted four times by Allied troops, for a loss of over 54,000 Allied and 20,000 German soldiers.”

The exact date that Private First Class Daniel T Doyle was killed in action has not been identified. His mother received a telegram from the war department the second week in March notifying her that he was missing. A follow-up telegram on March 17, 1944, confirmed his death.

Following the war, the remains of Danny Doyle were returned to Santa Cruz and buried in the family plot in the Old Holy Cross Cemetery.

(NARA2; SCSn June 9, 1943 2:1, October 10, 1943 2:1, November 21, 1943 4:3, March 17, 1944 1:5; WIKI, Cassino)