to stock broker Oren Fogle Browning, Jr. and his wife poet Sarah Louise Smith Browning. In 1914, Miles enrolled in the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, 
, and graduated on 29-06-1917, age 20 
. He served aboard the American battleship Oklahoma and then the French cruiser Lutetia during WWI. On 07-12-1941, Oklahoma was sunk by several torpedoes during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 
A total of 429 crew died; survivors jumped off the ship 50 feet (15 m) into burning hot water or crawled across mooring lines that connected Oklahoma and Maryland.
Photo from a Japanese aircraft shortly after the start of the attack with Ford Island clearly visible
on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, on Sunday, December 7, 1941, 17:55 UTC (in Hawaii in the morning, in Washington D.C. at 12 :55 EST, in Japan in the early morning of Monday, December 8; EST is used below). The attack was intended to destroy most of the United States fleet so that Japan would have free rein in the Pacific Ocean. 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,282 injured. The losses on the Japanese side were much smaller, 65 soldiers were killed or wounded. A Japanese sailor was captured. The attack came as a great shock to the American people and led directly to American involvement in World War II, both in the Pacific and in Europe. The next day the United States declared war on Japan. Two weeks after his 59th birthday, on 18-04-1943, Yamamoto, age 57, was killed at 9:30 am when his Mitsubishi G4M aircraft was shot down by American P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft during a flight from Rabaul past Japanese strongholds, intended to boost the morale of his troops. . The attack came after the encrypted message detailing his itinerary was deciphered by US intelligence services. Two weeks after his 59th birthday, on 18-04-1943, age Yamamoto, was killed at 9:30 am when his Mitsubishi G4M aircraft was shot down by American P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft during a flight from Rabaul past Japanese strongholds, intended to boost the morale of his troops. The attack came after the encrypted message detailing his itinerary was deciphered by US intelligence services. First Lieutenant Rex Theodore Barber, 
engaged the first of the two Japanese transports which turned out to be Yamamoto plane. He targeted the aircraft with gunfire until it began to spew smoke from its left engine. Barber turned away to attack the other transport as Yamamoto’s plane crashed into the jungle.
stepdaughter of Vice Admiral Clark Howell Woodward 
. Clark Howell Woodward died a widower in Arlington, Virginia on 29-05-1967, age 90, a decade after the death of his wife in a fire. Between 1922 and Jan 1924, Browning served aboard cruiser Charleston and then destroyer Thompson. In Jan 1924, Browning began flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, 
, earning his wings on 29 Sep. Aboard carrier Langley, minelayer Aroostook, and battleship Idaho, he piloted observation aircraft. In the late 1920s, he served two years as the Operations Officer of Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia. In Jul 1929, he received his first command as the commanding officer of Scouting Squadron 5S aboard light cruiser Trenton. In Jul 1931, he joined the Bureau of Aeronautics in the Material Division, in which role he contributed to the direction of American naval aircraft of in the 1930s. In 1932, he was injured as a test pilot as his aircraft crashed, putting him in a San Diego, California, United States hospital. Between Jun 1934 and Jun 1936, he was the commanding officer of Fighting Squadron 3B aboard carrier Langley 
, later transferred to carrier Ranger. Between Jun 1936 and 1937, he studied at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. In 1937, he became an instructor at the US Army Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field. In late 1937, he became Admiral William F. Halsey’s Air Tactical Officer. 
In Jun 1938, he was transferred to carrier Yorktown as the air wing’s commanding officer. In 1940, as Halsey became the commander of Air Battle Forces, Browning was selected as Halsey’s Operations and War Plans Officer. 
In Jun 1941, he became Halsey’s chief of staff aboard Enterprise.
, drawing the US into the war, Browning was aboard carrier Enterprise en route to Wake Island. Browning organized unsuccessful attempts following the attack to search for the departing Japanese fleet, and then launched offensives in Feb and Mar 1942 against Japanese positions in the Central Pacific. In Apr 1942, he participated in the planning of the Doolittle Raid. 
took over Halsey’s command of carriers. A battleship commander, Spruance relied heavily on Halsey’s lieutenants, among whom Captain Browning. Spruance found Browning difficult to communicate with, particularly with Browning’s emotional unstableness.In the summer of 1942, Browning had an affair with the wife of a fellow officer. Together with his known problem with alcoholism, he was temporarily removed from command due to his ungentlemanly conducts. He returned to the front lines in Oct 1942, and once again became a member of Halsey’s staff. Browning’s careful planning of air strikes against Japanese installations played a role in the eventual victory in the Guadalcanal and Solomon Islands campaigns. In a letter to Admiral Chester William Nimitz 
on 01-01-1943, Halsey wrote, “Miles has an uncanny knack of sizing up a situation and coming out with an answer”, largely in attempt to save Browning’s career, which by now starting to become rather uncertain as the temperamental Browning made more and more political enemies, including Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox
and Admiral Ernest King.
In Jul 1943, Browning became the commanding officer of carrier Hornet. In this role, he was instrumental in major air strikes against Japanese garrisons at Truk and Palau islands, as well as participating in the Battle of the Philippine Sea near the Mariana Islands. In the spring of 1944, during a showing of a film on Hornet’s hangar deck, someone discharged a carbon dioxide canister, triggering a stampede that threw two sailors overboard, and one of them drowned. Browning’s political opponents took the opportunity to attack him, successfully removing him from front line command in May 1944. He was transferred to the General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, as an instructor, in which role he remained through the rest of WW2.
Death and burial ground of Browning, Miles Rutherford.
Browning left.
After the war, Browning toured Japan in 1949, noting that long term radiation damage from the atomic bombs was a “myth”. On 01-01-1947, he retired from service, and was retroactively promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral. Between 1950 and 1952, he was appointed the Civil Defense Director of New Hampshire, United States. American comedian and actor Chevy Chase 
is his grandson, the son of Browning’s only daughter Cathalene Parker Browning 
. Miles Browning passed away of systemic lupus erythematosus at Chelsea Naval Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, on 29-09-1954, age 57. He was buried on 06-10-1954 at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, United States. Section 2, Site: 4942 – 1 – 2
Message(s), tips or interesting graves for the webmaster: robhopmans@outlook.com
Leave a Reply