USAAC 1st Lieutenant Doyle Fleming Nee was born in on February 5, 1921, the son of Daniel Augustus Nee Sr. (1892-1987) and Hattie Hortense Fleming (1892-1952). His father supported his family in a variety of jobs ranging from a stenographer with the Wells & Wentworth Insurance Agency (1910-1918) to a shipyard timekeeper (1920) and even a Justice of the Peace (1930). By 1940, he was the deputy collector for the Internal Revenue Service. His son Doyle would graduate from Pensacola High School in the Class of 1939 before marrying in 1940 to Miss Dorothy Louise Nichols (1920-2000). The young couple would take up housekeeping at 1018 East Jackson Street while Doyle took a job as a bookkeeper. She was the daughter of Sibley (Sidney) Dixon Nichols (1895-1953) and Emma Ruth Hendry (1895-2985). By 1940, her mother had remarried Walter S. Norman who owned a local second-hand furniture store.
Doyle was also the maternal great-grandson of Private George Andrew Fleming (1827-1864) who was a trooper with Company "I" of the 15th Confederate Cavalry during the Civil War. The regiment fought throughout Northwest Florida and along the Gulf Coast all the way to Mississippi. He enlisted in 1862 in Conecuh County, Alabama in Company "D" of the 3rd Battalion. This unit was eventually consolidated on September 24, 1863, with the 15th Confederate Cavalry Regiment. He went AWOL in 1863 and was sentenced to twelve months hard labor. He died on October 1, 1864.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, many of Pensacola's young men rushed to the enlistment centers to join up in one of the military services. Doyle chose the US Army Air Corps, so he drove out to Ft. Barrancas to their office and signed up on January 24, 1942. After flight training, he received his commission and wings on November 3, 1943. He was assigned to the 367th Fighter Squadron of the 358th Fighter Group flying the P-47 Thunderbolt. His squadron had sailed for England on October 8, 1943, aboard the SS Monterey and entered combat on December 20 of the same year. Doyle would join his squadron sometime during this time as they began escorting troop transports during the Normandy invasion on D-Day. After the landing, they attacked railroad lines, enemy troops, and bridges. As the Allied offensive moved eastwards so did the squadron's home airfield. They left England and moved to Cretteville, France then to Pontorson, France and finally to Vitry-le-Francois, France on September 15, 1944. They took part in the bloody battle for St. Lo and flew escorts for the bombers, fought German fighters, and performed close air support for the troops on the ground.
On October 2, 1944, Doyle took off from his airfield as his squadron headed for the French city of Metz. Here General George Patton's offensive had stalled due to stiff German resistance. Therefore, Doyle's squadron had been called in to hit specific targets to assist the 3rd Army's assault. Arriving over Metz, Doyle and his fellow fighters dove on their designated dive bombing targets. However, they were met by intensive German anti-aircraft fire. Either before he released his bomb or afterwards, Doyle was attempting to evade the enemy fire when he crashed into another aircraft at 7,000 feet altitude at 5:55 PM. He was seen to exit his aircraft, but a parachute was never seen as he fell to his death. His body was recovered and buried in the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Dinozé, France.
Back home, his wife Dorothy was notified of his death at her home at 907 North Alcaniz Street where she lived with their daughter. She would remarry in 1952 to James Henry Boykins (1925-), US Air Force.
















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