Ships
- USS Pasadena (CL-65) Captain from 2 June 1945 · Relieved on 27 May 1946
James Henry Doyle had Pasadena (CL-65) from 2 June 1945 to 27 May 1946 on the NavSource list. He took her for the last strikes on Japan, the entry into Sagami Wan, and the surrender in Tokyo Bay, and he left her after the overhaul on the west coast had begun. He later commanded the attack force at Inchon. NavSource gives his final rank as vice admiral.
The opening of his Wikipedia biography, and the infobox, give his birth as 22 August 1897 in Jamaica, Queens, New York. A later paragraph, drawn from a Navy Department sketch, says he was born in Astoria, Long Island, New York, on 29 August 1897, the son of John J. and Elizabeth (Johnson) Doyle. The date used here is 22 August 1897. He died in Oakland, California, on 1 February 1981. A category on the same page, and a short description, say 1982.
He attended the Jamaica Model School and Jamaica High School and entered the Naval Academy in 1916 by appointment from the Second Congressional District of New York. As a midshipman he served in the summers of 1917 and 1918 in Arkansas and Connecticut. He was graduated with the class of 1920 on 6 June 1919 and commissioned ensign. The page's service years are 1919 to 1953. From graduation until August 1926 he served in Mercury, Pennsylvania, George E. Badger, Delaware, and Camden. On 1 August 1926 he reported to the Office of the Judge Advocate General and, while there, attended George Washington University Law School. He received the Bachelor of Laws with distinction in 1929. He was executive officer of Lawrence from July 1929 and of Buchanan from August 1930. From June 1932 he spent three years again in the Judge Advocate General's office. From June 1935 to June 1937 he was aide and flag secretary on the staff of Commander Destroyers, Battle Force, in Detroit. He commanded Sands until August 1938, then for two years was aide to the commandant of the Sixteenth Naval District and the navy yard at Cavite. In August 1940 he assumed command of Destroyer Division 67 in the Atlantic, with additional duty as commanding officer of Herndon. The next month the division was turned over to the British Navy at Halifax under the destroyers-for-bases agreement.
On 24 September 1940 he took command of Regulus and served in her until May 1942. He then joined the staff of Commander Amphibious Force, South Pacific. The Legion of Merit citation on the page covers the Solomon Islands campaign from 7 August 1942 to 15 July 1943, including the initial occupation of Guadalcanal and Tulagi. From November 1943 to April 1945 he served in the Navy Department at the headquarters of the Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. After brief duty with Commander Cruisers, Pacific Fleet, the Navy sketch says he assumed command of Pasadena in May 1945. NavSource dates that command from 2 June 1945. The Bronze Star with Combat "V" covers meritorious service as commanding officer in the Western Pacific from 2 June to 1 September 1945: three anti-shipping sweeps and one shore bombardment in Japanese home waters, service with the support force of the Second Carrier Task Force, and duty as flagship for the commander of the support force during the initial entry and occupation at Sagami Wan. The sketch says he was detached in May 1946. NavSource relieves him on 27 May 1946. DANFS has the ship, in those months, on the last strikes against the home islands, in Sagami Wan on 27 August, and in Tokyo Bay for the surrender on 2 September, then home to San Pedro on 19 January 1946.
He was a member of the Military Staff Committee of the Security Council at the United Nations until September 1947, then Inspector-Instructor of Naval Reserves in the Thirteenth Naval District at Seattle. He was promoted to rear admiral to date from 7 August 1947. Ordered in January 1948 to the Amphibious Training Command, Pacific Fleet, at Coronado, he assumed command on 26 March 1948. In January 1950 he reported as Commander Amphibious Group One, with additional duty as Commander Transport Squadron One, and was later detached from the additional duty. The Army Silver Star, as Commander Attack Force, Joint Task Force Seven, covers the Inchon-Seoul operation from 15 to 21 September 1950. The Distinguished Service Medal, as Commander Amphibious Group One and Task Force 90 from 25 June 1950 to 1 January 1951, covers the landing of the 1st Cavalry Division at Pohang-dong, the amphibious phases of Inchon and the landings at Wonsan, and the evacuation from Hungnam to Pusan. In September 1951 he became President of the Board of Inspection and Survey. In May 1952 he became chairman of the Joint Amphibious Board at Little Creek. He was relieved of active duty pending retirement on 1 November 1953 and advanced to vice admiral on the retired list for combat service. He was a member of the bar of the District of Columbia and had been admitted to the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals of the District. He married Eleanor Ruth Fields of Brookline, Massachusetts. Their sons were Vice Admiral James H. Doyle, Jr., Naval Academy class of 1947, and John J. Doyle. Doyle was named for him. He died in Oakland on 1 February 1981.