Milton enlisted in the
United States Army in 1934 as a
private. After graduating from the US Military Academy in 1940, he entered
United States Army Air Corps pilot training and earned his
aviator badge in March 1941.
World War II over Europe (13 April 1945) From 1943 to 1945 during
World War II, Milton served in the
Eighth Air Force in
England aboard
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses. The
351st Bomb Group's
operations officer, on 12 August 1943,
Major Milton found himself and Major
Clark Gable aboard ''Ain't It Gruesome
, a B-17F flown by Captain John B. Carraway. Milton was leading 330 B-17Fs and 329 Republic P-47 Thunderbolts out of the United Kingdom to attack the well-defended Nazi synthetic oil production facilities at Gelsenkirchen. The weather forced Milton to divert to bombing Bochum as a target of opportunity; the bombing was successful at the cost of 25 shot-down B-17s. Ain't It Gruesome'' itself was shot plenty, and Gable lost a boot heel to an unexploded
shell. For his actions, Milton received a
Silver Star. Five months later, Milton was commander of the
91st Bombardment Group and
copilot of a B-17 over
Nazi Germany when he was "painfully wounded" by an enemy
interceptor. Milton refused aid and remained at his post through the mission's completion, and did not step down until every plane in the large formation had successfully landed at
diversion airports. For this action, Milton received a
Distinguished Service Cross. On 24 October 1944, Milton assumed command of the
384th Bomb Group and led bombing runs until 14 April 1945.
1948–1974 In 1948, he was the
chief of staff for
William H. Tunner, commander of the
Combined Airlift Task Force, the unit tasked with the
Berlin Airlift. From 1949 through 1957, Milton was the
Military Air Transport Service director of operations for two years, an
Air War College student, and a three-year
executive assistant to the
Secretary of the Air Force. In October 1957, Milton was promoted to
brigadier general and appointed as the commander of the
41st Air Division in Japan. Four years later, upon his promotion to
major general, Milton transferred to
Clark Air Base in the
Philippines, and took command of the
Thirteenth Air Force. After two years as 13 AF/CC, Milton was chosen as deputy chief of staff, plans and operations, to the
United States Pacific Command commander-in-chief at
Camp H. M. Smith,
Hawaii. In August 1965, Milton became the
Tactical Air Command chief of staff at
Langley Air Force Base. February 1967 saw Milton's promotion to
lieutenant general and his assignment as
Inspector General of the Air Force until July 1967. This was followed by his appointment as
Comptroller of the Air Force for 20 months. In March 1969, he became the deputy chairman of the
NATO Military Committee at
NATO headquarters; on 1 August 1971, Milton was promoted to
general and made the United States' representative to that same committee. Milton retired on 31 July 1974. After his retirement from the USAF, Milton
lectured and wrote for
Air Force Magazine.
Awards and decorations Among his
US awards and decorations, General Milton received a
Distinguished Service Cross, two
Air Force Distinguished Service Medals, a
Silver Star, three
Legion of Merits, four
Distinguished Flying Crosses, a
Bronze Star Medal, five
Air Medals, and a
Purple Heart. The
United Kingdom made Milton an honorary
Knight Commander of the
Order of the British Empire and awarded him the
British Distinguished Flying Cross;
France awarded him the
Croix de Guerre. ==References==