Veteran Spotlight: Marine Col. Kevin Doyle
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FALMOUTH, Mass. — Kevin Doyle served his country for 30 years in both active and reserve service in the Marine Corps, retiring as a colonel.
His dad was a highly decorated lieutenant commander in the Navy in World War II and his son, Brian, served in the Army for 23 years.
Doyle grew up in Arlington and attended Arlington High School. In 1963, he received a Navy ROTC scholarship to the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester and was commissioned in 1967.
He shared a very powerful story of when he was attending Vietnamese Language School in Washington, D.C., the day the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
"It was kind of eerie, the whole sky darkened, buses were belching black smoke," he said. "It was like a Hollywood production. A bunch of us were leaving school and I said we should grab a cab. There was an African-American staff sergeant who said, 'I don't think you should do that today.'"
In 1968, Doyle was sent as an adviser to the Regional Forces in Vietnam, where he commanded troops during the war.
He offered this on being away for the holidays: "You get wistful, my family sent me Christmas stockings and I kept them. I went to church in the compound and when I came back to my tent, there was a mist in the air," he said. "I closed my eyes and pretended it was snow."
His patrols were highly dangerous and brought him into the A Shau Valley and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail for months at a time. He shared this story about one of his men who had been injured in battle.
"He was a young kid, no more than 20. He got part of his face blown off in a fire fight. I stayed with him all night, talking, reassuring, telling him he was going to be OK," Doyle recalled. "the helicopter came the next day and the sling was lowered down. As he was being lifted up he went into a salute."
The memory still brings him tremendous emotion.
Fast forward 25 years to the Vietnam Veterans Wall in Washington, where Doyle was paying his respects to fallen Marines and soldiers. As he looked to his right, he recognized the man. Their eyes met. They moved closer. They stared at each other for about 10 seconds then fell into an embrace.
He was the young Marine whom he had stayed up all night comforting — he was reunited with Rick Krets.
"Do you know how many people I've told about your courage?" he told Krets
"Do you know how many people I've told about your inspiration?" Krets responded.
I asked him his thoughts on several topics;
- Leadership: "You're driven by accomplishments and taking care of your people."
- Losing a Marine: "Devastating. You own it and carry it with you for life."
- Entertainment overseas: "Extremely important. The CARE packages, anonymous letters and USO shows, meant a great deal."
- Overall military experience: VERY Positive. A beacon in my life. Never stops. My moral compass."
As one can imagine, Doyle's awards and medals are numerous. In typical humility, he asked that only a few be recognized: The Legion of Merit, two Navy Commendation Medals with "V" for Valor, and the Vietnamese Silver Star.
Col. Kevin Doyle, thank you for your service to our great country and welcome home.
Wayne Soares is the host of the popular new veterans cooking show, "The Mess Hall" that airs Saturdays on NBC's NECN at 9:30 a.m. He also entertains our troops around the globe and is the host and producer of the Vietnam veterans documentary "Silent Dignity – The Chapter That Never Ends." He can be reached at waynesoares1@gmail.com.
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