Friends of the Somme - Mid Ulster Branch  
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Updates for Captain Loren Levi Miles
Date Information
26/12/2020 All three men were killed when the Cessna UC-78 Bobcat plane crashed into the mountains near Maghera. After its failure to arrive in London, an investigation into its disappearance was started some four hours after its expected arrival time.
26/12/2020 Loren was born on 22nd November 1902 in Stanwood, Cedar County, Iowa, U.S.A.
26/12/2020 Known family: Emery Miles, Mary Angelina Miles, Loren Levi Miles (born 22nd November 1902, Stanwood, Cedar County), Eva Myrtle Miles (born 30th July 1904, Olin, Cedar County), Harlon Leo Miles (born 5th November 1906 Olin, Cedar County).
26/12/2020 Loren Miles joined the Los Angeles Police Department about 1924.
26/12/2020 Loren Miles married to Marjorie Jane Nisbet on 21st June 1925. They had 2 children. Loren and Marjorie were divorced in early 1928.
26/12/2020 Family 2: Loren Levi Miles, Marjorie Jane Miles (nee Nisbet), Marshall Emery Miles (born 21st June 1926, Los Angeles), Elizabeth Jean Noble (born 28th November 1927, Los Angeles).
26/12/2020 Loren married second Lola Burbank, they had one son. Larry Miles became a commercial airline pilot, flying for United Air Lines for many years. Loren and Lola were divorced in about 1937.
26/12/2020 A report in the Los Angeles Times after his death that he was the ‘hero of numerous gun battles during his nineteen years on the Los Angeles Police Force.’ He was promoted to detective lieutenant in 1943.
26/12/2020 Loren later remarried again, his wife being called Barbara.
26/12/2020 Holding a commercial pilot's license and boasting more than 8,000 hours of flying time, Miles was given military leave by the Police Department in April 1942. Before joining the Air Force, he had spent his vacations ferrying bombers to Canada.
26/12/2020 Loren Levi (Lee) Miles was the son of Emery and Mary Angelina Miles (nee Blythe).
26/12/2020 On the flight, Logan was also joined by Mr David Grimes, the Vice President in charge of engineering at the Philco Radio Company, who was involved in radar development work.
26/12/2020 Loren L Miles Hero of gun battles here (L.A.), dies in air service. The death of Loren Lee Miles, 44 year old Army Air Forces pilot and hero of numerous gun battles during his 19 years on the Los Angeles Police Force, was disclosed yesterday by the 8th United States Air Force headquarters in London. Miles was killed last weekend in a plane crash near Belfast Ireland, in which Commodore James A Logan, Commandant of the United States Naval operating base at Londonderry, Northern Ireland, also met death. Holding a commercial pilot's license and boasting more than 8,000 hours of flying time, Miles was given military leave by the Police Department last April. Before joining the Air Force, he had spent his vacations ferrying bombers to Canada. Miles joined the Police Department in 1924 and was made a Detective Lieutenant last year. During his tenure as a police officer, he shot and killed four bandits and captured many other criminals.
26/12/2020 The crash site was discovered the following day at about 18:00 with all three men killed. The US Army were first notified and attended the scene before contacting the now acting navy commandant, Executive officer Commander John E Williams, who proceeded immediately to the crash site. Captain Miles’s body was claimed by the US Army authorities.
26/12/2020 It seems Captain Miles was initially buried in Brookwood Cemetery in England. Surrey, near London.
26/12/2020 When the military notified the family of the death of Captain Miles, no mention was made of where he was buried, or when the burial took place.
26/12/2020 It was some years after the war when Captain Miles was reburied in the Military Cemetery in San Bruno, California.
26/12/2020 A small plaque was placed near the crash site by the Logan family on the 60th anniversary of the event on 4th September 2003. The plaque is located at the side of the Old Coach Road (the original road from Maghera to Belfast) at map ref. C80287 05185. Access to this road is at the ‘Black Gate’. Captain Miles and David Grimes are also listed on the plaque.
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26/12/2020 From the Los Angeles Times, Labour Day weekend of 1944: Air Crash Kills Ex-Policeman
26/12/2020 On 4th September 1943, Captain Miles was flying a Cessna UC-78 Bobcat (Serial No 42-58314) which set out from RNAS Eglinton at approximately 14:35. It was ferrying Commodore Alex Logan to a conference in London, to a meeting with the Commander of US Naval Forces in Europe, Admiral Harold R Stark.
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