Circumstances of Death

On September 3, 1969, Special Agent David Walter Doyle left his home late in the evening to meet a confidential informant regarding a major liquor violator. Several hours later, the Special Agent in Charge was notified that Agent Doyle was involved in an accident near Delisle, Missouri. Although rushed to Gulfport Memorial Hospital, he died shortly after arriving.

An accident investigation showed that the government automobile had been driving on the Kiln-Delisle Road towards Gulfport. The vehicle was involved in an undetermined single car accident, when it left the roadway and struck a large tree.

Background

Agent Doyle joined the Alcohol Tax Unit (ATU) on May 25, 1950, and served in the Clarksdale Field Office prior to his transfer to Gulfport, Missouri. Agent Doyle's official personnel file documents that he graduated from an "arson investigation training course" at Purdue University in 1952. This is noteworthy because ATF's investigation of arson as a federal crime was believed to have started in the late 1960s.

Prior to joining ATU, Agent Doyle was a police officer in Milwaukee and served as a security specialist for the Atomic Energy Commission. He served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army during World War II and held the rank of Captain in the Reserves at the time of his death.

Personal

Agent Doyle was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.