Edward Paul Doyle, O.P. Ph.D., (1907-1997) was a Dominican Brother, who also served as a Chaplain with the U.S. Army's 104th Infantry Division during World War II.
Born June 30, 1907 in Fall River, Massachusetts, Doyle was one of nine children of Patrick J. and Anne (Harrison) Doyle. A graduate of B.M.C. Durfee High School in Fall River, he joined the Dominican Order in 1932 and was ordained in Somerset, Ohio in 1939. Upon receiving a Master's Degree from The Catholic University of America in 1941, Doyle came to Providence College to teach philosophy and theology. He received a Doctorate from the Aquinas Institute in River Forest, Illinois in 1962.
In 1943 Doyle was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant and assigned to the 104th Infantry Division, also known as the Timberwolves. After months of training in the western United States, the division departed for Europe in August 1944 and spent the next nine months in continuous combat through France, Holland, Belgium, and Germany. By April 11, 1945, the division captured the town of Nordhausen, which they discovered was a sub-camp of the notorious death camp Buchenwald.
After the war, Doyle continued to teach at Providence College and then in 1954 began to assume various teaching positions with other institutions. In 1976, Doyle returned to Rhode Island to serve as the Chaplain at Summit Medical Center in Providence, RI., before becoming a member of the St. Thomas Aquinas Priory in 1987. Doyle remained with the Dominican community at Providence College until his death in 1997.
Father Doyle's achievements include positions as the first president of the Dominican Educational Association and director of the School of Catholic Studies at the University of Virginia Catholic Center. As national chaplain for the Timberwolves, he went to West Point each year to present the 104th Infantry Division's Terry Allen award to a graduating senior.
Collection is open for research by appointment. Materials do not circulate. Some materials may be restricted, for further information contact the Archives and Special Collections, Phillips Memorial Library, Providence College.
Researchers are advised that express written permission to reproduce, quote, or otherwise publish any portion or extract from this collection must be obtained from the Phillips Memorial Library. Although Providence College has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Edward Paul Doyle, O. P. papers, Providence College, Phillips Memorial Library, Archives and Special Collections.
The collection is comprised primarily of clippings, correspondence, programs, and articles relating to the 40th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion (June 6, 1944) and the 1st U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council International Liberators Conference (October 26-28, 1981). The collection also contains a rich assortment of photographs taken in 1945 by Doyle at the Nordhausen concentration camp in Germany and a number of photographs of Doyle before and after his military service.
The collection is arranged into two series.
In 1996, Father Edward P. Doyle, O.P., donated his collection of documents, photographs and printed material to the Providence College Archives and Special Collections.
There are no known related materials.
No materials have been removed from this collection.
This series contains negatives, prints, and photocopies consisting of images of Father Doyle and of the death camp at Nordhausen, Germany. The black and white photographs of Nordhausen were taken by Father Doyle and are all dated April 12, 1945.
4" x 6" black & white photographs.
2.5" x 3.5" black & white photographs.
see oversized
This series contains some correspondence, biographical data on Father Doyle, obituaries, and clippings. Additional clippings reflect his interest in the Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion (June 6, 1944), the 104th Infantry Division and the Holocaust, especially the death camp at Nordhausen.
Material from the 1st U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council International Liberators Conference, October 26-28, 1981, includes copies of his “I Was There…” remarks and an oral history interview with Father Doyle and other Conference participants. The last pieces in the Collection are excerpts from the 1st edition and a copy of the January 1999 edition of Timberwolf Tracks: The History of the 104th Infantry Division, 1942-1945.
The series is arranged alphabetically.