Miles Browning Miles Rutherford Browning ( April 10 , 1897 – September 29 , 1954 ) was an officer in the United States Navy in the Atlantic during World War I and in the Pacific during World War II . A pioneer in the development of aircraft carrier combat operations concepts , he is noted for his aggressive aerial warfare tactics as a captain on the during World War II . His citation for the Distinguished Service Medal states : " His judicious planning and brilliant execution was largely responsible for the rout of the enemy Japanese fleet in the Battle of Midway . " He is the grandfather of actor Chevy Chase . Early life and career . Miles Browning was born in Perth Amboy , New Jersey , the son of Sarah Louise ( née Smith ) and New York City stockbroker Oren Fogle Browning , Jr . He attended public schools before his appointment to the U . S . Naval Academy , Annapolis , in 1914 . He graduated early , commissioned Ensign with the Class of 1918 on June 29 , 1917 . During World War I , Browning served on the , a battleship of the U . S . Atlantic Fleet , until February 1918 . He then had duty in connection with fitting out the battleship . In June 1918 , he joined the French cruiser " Lutetia " , and was senior American Naval Officer aboard while she operated with Cruiser Force , Atlantic Fleet , through the end of the war . Following the war Browning spent four consecutive years afloat , serving on the battleship ( flagship of the Atlantic Fleet ) , the destroyer , and as Engineer Officer of , and later ( destroyers operating with the U . S . Pacific Fleet ) . Lieutenant Browning joined in 1920 , serving as Executive Officer until transferred a year later to similar duty as XO of . On May 20 , 1922 , Browning married San Francisco socialite Cathalene Isabella Parker , stepdaughter of Vice Admiral Clark H . Woodward . From 1922 to January 1924 , Browning served as Senior Patrol Officer on the cruiser USS " Charleston " and the destroyer , operating out of Naval Station San Diego . During that time , his only daughter , Cathalene Parker Browning , was born in San Diego . ( Her son is American comedian Chevy Chase . ) In January 1924 , Browning reported to Naval Air Station Pensacola for flight training . He showed exceptional skill in the cockpit , but also exhibited a " wild streak " which struck his squadron mates as " potentially dangerous . " Designated Naval Aviator on September 29 , 1924 , he became one of America ' s earliest navy combat pilots , joining , America ' s first aircraft carrier , which had been converted from the collier ( whose sister ships , and , vanished without a trace in the Bermuda Triangle area ) . From January 1925 until May 1927 , Browning was assigned to Observation Squadron 2 , attached first to the minelayer , later to the battleship . Advanced to Operations Officer , he served for two years at Naval Station Norfolk , Virginia . Promoted to Naval Flight Officer , he was assigned his first command in July 1929 : Scouting Squadron 5S , the aviation unit of the light cruiser . During that time he performed additional duty on the staff of the commander of Light Cruiser Division Two of the Scouting Fleet ( USS " Trenton " , flagship ) . As an early combat aviator , Browning helped develop and implement fighter aircraft tactics and strategy ; he also helped shape how naval warplanes were designed and built . In July 1931 , he reported to the Bureau of Aeronautics to serve in the Material Division ( Design ) , and spent the next three years helping to design and test combat aircraft . As a test pilot , he crashed a plane in 1932 and was laid up in a San Diego naval hospital . The monoplane fighters which Browning and others piloted went through numerous upgrades in both structure and function , every design change hotly debated by men whose very lives were at stake . Browning was part of the group of " progressives " that pushed for development of a high - performance fighter , with maneuverability secondary to speed . These men felt that a true fighter had to be fast enough to quickly overtake and shoot down enemy planes . Unfortunately for Browning and the other progressive thinkers , the Bureau of Aeronautics continued to emphasize maneuverability , climb , and flight ceiling at the expense of speed and other characteristics that the progressives argued were more important . If the bureau had been more receptive to the emphasis on speed , the United States might have entered World War II with a more advanced high - performance fighter . In June 1934 , Browning was given command of Fighting Squadron 3B , based on the USS " Langley " and later on , the first American warship built from the keel up as an aircraft carrier . He served in that capacity until June 1936 , when he reported to the Naval War College in Newport , Rhode Island , for postgraduate studies with additional duty at the Naval Torpedo Station there . Upon completion of his junior year , he became one of the first naval instructors at the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field in 1937 , training a new generation of fighter pilots while continuing his advanced studies in combat theory , national security policy , airborne command and control and joint military operations . Browning laid out his tactical logic in a 13 - page , single - spaced , typewritten thesis on carrier warfare prepared at the Naval War College in 1936 , the year that Nazi Germany allied with Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan . Browning ' s essay anticipated the flaw in Japanese carrier execution which he would exploit during the coming war . After completing his academic work , Browning was appointed to Admiral William F . Halsey ' s staff in the new billet of Air Tactical Officer . In June 1938 , he joined the United States ' second new aircraft carrier , , to serve as commander of " Yorktown " ' s carrier air wing . Browning personally developed and organized the Fleet Aircraft Tactical Unit based on " Yorktown " , and commanded it for two additional years . When Halsey became the commander of Air Battle Forces two years later , Browning remained on his staff as Operations and War Plans Officer and became Halsey ' s Chief of staff in June 1941 . From the onset of U . S . involvement in World War II , Browning provided tactical counsel to Halsey from the bridge of the flagship . As war loomed on the horizon , Halsey had Browning prepare the crew of " Enterprise " and her aircraft squadrons . They were en route to Hawaii after delivering a doomed Marine Corps fighter squadron to Wake Island when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor . USS " Enterprise " scout bombers arrived over Pearl during the attack , and immediately went into action in defense of the naval base . Six of them were shot down . The carrier reached the devastated harbor just after the attack , and put to sea again early the next morning to patrol against any additional threats to the Hawaiian Islands . ( " Enterprise " planes sank a Japanese submarine on December 10 , 1941 , three days into the war . ) With the United States Pacific Fleet nearly destroyed , USS " Enterprise " and her battle group took up forward defensive positions west of Hawaii . Eight of the fleet ' s nine battleships had been trapped in the harbor , four of them sunk and four heavily damaged , along with three of the fleet ' s eight cruisers present during the dawn attack . With her battleship force crippled , defense against further attacks on the United States and her territories was left to her three aircraft carriers stationed in the Pacific : " Enterprise " , and the converted battlecruiser s and . Designated flagship of the Pacific Fleet , " Enterprise " sailed in January 1942 to protect American convoys reinforcing Samoa . Soon , though , under the aggressive leadership of Halsey and Browning , " Enterprise " took up the offensive . In February and March 1942 , Browning directed numerous daring air raids on Japanese bases at Kwajalein , Wotje , and Maloelap in the Marshall Islands , and blasted enemy installations in the Gilbert Islands , Marcus Island , and Wake Island . Halsey gave credit for much of his own remarkable military success to his chief of staff , and recommended Commander Browning for a spot promotion to the rank of captain . So dramatic were Browning ' s air raid s on Japanese island bases that " Life " magazine dubbed him " America ' s mastermind in aerial warfare . " Browning ' s promotion was approved by CINCPAC that April following the " Doolittle Raid " , in which Browning himself played a role in both planning and executing . Dubbed " Jimmy Doolittle ' s Raid " by the American press , the daring scheme launched 16 Army Air Force long - range bombers , led by Lt . Col . James H . Doolittle , from the deck of the carrier , with " Enterprise " providing combat air support . The squadron dropped bombs on Tokyo at high noon on April 18 , 1942 , completely surprising the Japanese and giving the beleaguered American troops and public a much - needed boost in morale . Midway . Halsey suffered a severe attack of dermatitis on the " Enterprise " on the way back from the successful Doolittle bombing . Rear Admiral Raymond A . Spruance , Halsey ' s hand - picked successor , inherited Browning and his staff just prior to the Battle of Midway . Spruance , who had commanded only a cruiser division since the beginning of the war , was concerned about leading a carrier group because he had no prior aviation or carrier experience . Halsey reassured him , telling Spruance to rely on his battle - hardened staff , especially Browning . Unfortunately , Browning had limited social skills , and Spruance found it difficult to get along with his chief of staff during and after Midway . Military historian Samuel Eliot Morison referred to Browning as " one of the most irascible officers ever to earn a fourth stripe , but he was a man with a slide - rule brain . " Others said he had a " calculator brain " and " a superintellect that evoked praise – often begrudging – from his superiors . " Browning is commonly described as " crusty and brawling , " clever , daring , exceptionally aggressive and uncontrollable . He was by no means a deft social mixer . He was willful , arrogant , a hard drinker , and violently tempered . Despite his unpopularity , he was respected as a brilliant tactical officer . Midway would be a critical battle for the United States and its allies , one that all parties knew might very well determine the outcome of the war in the Pacific . After the devastation of its battleships at Pearl Harbor six months earlier , the U . S . Navy was forced to place all its hopes on a small aircraft carrier force that was dwarfed by the strength of Japan ' s Combined Fleet . As chief of staff for Task Force 17 , Browning was charged with supporting rear admiral Spruance during the impending battle as the Imperial Japanese Navy , undefeated for over 350 years , bore down on Midway Island . American intelligence had decoded Japanese messages and knew roughly where the Combined Fleet would be headed . Although unaware of that breach in its radio security , the Japanese Navy changed its codes out of protocol while under sail for the strategically crucial U . S . airbase at Midway . The Imperial Fleet , under Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto , knew that it would meet resistance . The intention was to draw whatever was left of the American fleet into a battle wherein any remaining U . S . naval warships could be destroyed . Yamamoto ' s second - in - command , Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo , the hero of Pearl Harbor , was so confident in the plan that he failed to anticipate carrier - based aerial attacks from any of America ' s remaining carriers , and presumed that the heavily damaged " Yorktown " had been sunk during the Battle of the Coral Sea . Some accounts credit Browning ' s tactical genius and carrier operations experience with winning the battle of Midway . Spruance wanted to wait to launch fighter aircraft until the Japanese ships were within . Browning , however , had deduced that the Japanese would commit to another strike on Midway Island and that he could catch them off guard . By ordering " Enterprise " ' s fighters to attack the Japanese task force on sight while the Japanese planes were committed to fueling and rearming operations on deck , Browning caught the Japanese ships without adequate protection and was able to sink all four of Japan ' s big carriers , as he had predicated in his 1936 tactical thesis . Guadalcanal . Browning , unfortunately , was a man of tremendous contradictions . At his moment of triumph , in the summer of 1942 , he had an affair with the wife of a fellow officer , Commander Francis Massie Hughes . That breach of the Navy ' s sacred code for an officer , combined with his drinking and unstable temperament , would eventually derail his career and lead later chroniclers to virtually write him out of military history . Despite this damaging personal incident , Browning resumed combat duties in October 1942 , when Halsey was given command of the South Pacific theater , where Allied fortunes had turned for the worse . Browning ' s sage tactical advice helped Halsey to execute the command miracle in the Solomon Islands that reversed the declining situation in that war - swept region . Like Midway , the Guadalcanal Campaign was another critical " turning point " in the Pacific war . The first major offensive by combined Allied forces against Japanese - held territory , it was a desperate ongoing sea , air , and ground campaign requiring continual , almost daily , aircraft actions orchestrated by Browning . Repeated Japanese counterstrikes were repelled while the entire South Pacific Force – including U . S and Allied army , navy and marine forces – was run by Halsey , Browning , a handful of staff officers and some fifty bluejackets . Their tactics , and the sacrifices of thousands of soldiers , sailors and marines under their command , resulted in the historic naval victory at Guadalcanal in early November 1942 . Again , Halsey gave Browning credit for his success . In a New Year ' s Day 1943 letter to Admiral Nimitz ( CINCPAC ) concerning Browning ' s precarious career situation , Halsey wrote , " Miles has an uncanny knack of sizing up a situation and coming out with an answer . " Admitting that his chief of staff was " decidedly temperamental " , Halsey begged Nimitz not to break up " this partnership " between himself and Browning , writing , " I am almost superstitious about it . " Several days later , however , Browning antagonized visiting Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox , earning himself another powerful enemy who then replaced Browning over Halsey ' s objections . Admiral Ernest King , Chief of Naval Operations and Commander - in - Chief , United States Fleet , and another old enemy , concurred . Halsey instead pushed for a promotion to Commodore for Browning . In March 1943 , Browning married Jane Matthews , the woman with whom he had the 1942 affair ; she was his fourth and last wife . Browning was detached from Halsey ' s staff in July 1943 to become the commanding officer of the new , the namesake of the , lost in October 1942 at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands . During his tenure of command , took part in massive aerial raids against Japanese bases in the Pacific , including Palau , Truk , and Ponape , and provided carrier - launched air support during the Allied invasion of New Guinea and the Jayapura operation . Banishment . In the spring of 1944 , during a nighttime showing of a film on " Hornet " ' s hangar deck , someone discharged a CO canister and triggered a stampede . In the chaos , two sailors fell overboard ; one of them drowned . A board of investigation was ordered , which criticized Browning ' s command . The ensuing ruin of his career , " one of the great wastes to the American prosecution of the war , " resulted , ironically , from nothing having to do with combat . Browning was removed from command of " Hornet " in May 1944 and reassigned to the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , where he taught carrier battle tactics during the final months of the war . Halsey was given command of the carrier - oriented Third Fleet during 1944 - 1945 , but with his old chief of staff tossed onto the beach , he made grave mistakes that Browning might well have been able to help prevent . Browning toured Japan in 1949 , and stated that radiation damage from the atomic bombs was a " myth " . He pointed to gardens and a number of tall chimneys left standing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki as proof that there were no long - term effects of the blasts . Browning retired from active duty on January 1 , 1947 , just short of his 50th birthday , and was retroactively promoted to rear admiral ( upper half ) . He was appointed New Hampshire ' s Civil Defense Director in 1950 , where he devised a plan wherein 500 , 000 displaced residents of Boston could be housed in New Hampshire private homes in the event of disaster . Browning resigned from this post in 1952 . On September 29 , 1954 , Browning died of systemic lupus erythematosus at Chelsea Naval Hospital in Boston . He was buried on October 6 , 1954 at Arlington National Cemetery .