{{Short description|United States Marine Corps officer (1882–1957)}} {{Infobox military person | name = Edwin Halstead Brainard | image = Edwin H. Brainard.jpg | birth_date = September 6, 1882 | death_date = {{Death date and age|1957|2|27|1882|9|6}} | birth_place = [[Branford, Connecticut]], US | death_place = [[Pinellas County, Florida]], US | burial_place = [[Arlington National Cemetery]] | nickname = "Chief" | allegiance = {{Flag|United States of America|1912}} | branch = {{Flag|United States Marine Corps|1914}} | service_years = 1909–1929 | rank = [[File:US-O4 insignia.svg|20px]] [[Major (United States)#Army|Major]] | battles = {{tree list}} * [[World War I]] * [[Banana Wars]] ** [[United States occupation of Haiti|Occupation of Haiti]] ** [[United States occupation of Nicaragua|Occupation of Nicaragua]] {{tree list/end}} | awards = [[Navy Cross]]<br />[[Silver Star]] (2) | other_work = Vice President of [[Curtiss Flying Service]] }}

'''Edwin Halstead Brainard''' (September 6, 1882 – February 27, 1957) was a [[United States Marine Corps]] officer who was awarded the [[Navy Cross]] during [[World War I]]. He was also a Marine aviation pioneer during the 1920s and set many records.

== Early life and World War I == Brainard was born on September 6, 1882, in [[Branford, Connecticut]]. He was the son of Connecticut businessman and politician [[J. Edwin Brainard]], who later served as a member of the General Assembly and as Lieutenant Governor. The younger Brainard was called Halstead in his youth. He graduated from the [[New York Nautical School]] and commissioned as a [[second lieutenant]] in the Marine Corps in January 1909.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://dmairfield.com/people/brainard_eh/index.html|title=Edwin H. Brainard|work=Davis Monthan Aviation Field Register}}</ref>

During World War I, [[Major (United States)|Major]] Brainard served as the battalion commander of the 1st Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment in [[France]]. During the Champagne Offensive in October 1918, he unhesitatingly moved his battalion forward under heavy artillery fire and directed accurate counterfire at the enemy. Major Brainard was awarded the Navy Cross and a [[Silver Star]] for his actions.<ref name=":3" />

On November 3, Major Brainard constantly exposed himself to enemy artillery fire, increasing the morale of his men and the accuracy of his guns. For his leadership, he was awarded a second Silver Star.<ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/8584|title=Edwin H. Brainard|work=Military Times}}</ref> Additionally, the French government awarded Brainard the [[Croix de Guerre]].<ref name=":1" />

== Naval aviation career == After the war, Major Brainard earned his wings at [[Naval Air Station Pensacola|Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida]], in December 1920. Throughout the 1920s, he became a well-known aviator and made several groundbreaking flights. Brainard made a transcontinental round-trip flight in a Curtiss Hawk, and set the record for the longest flight with a seaplane when he flew from [[Washington, D.C.]] to [[Haiti]].<ref name=":1" />

In March 1925, Major Brainard was made the [[Deputy Commandant for Aviation|Officer in Charge, Aviation]] for all Marine aircraft, replacing [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|Lieutenant Colonel]] [[Thomas C. Turner]]. During his tenure, he directed the expansion of the Marine Aviation Reserve and called for the recruitment of more pilots. In September 1926, he defined three tactical missions for Marine aircraft. “Observation” was the first mission and included aerial photography and artillery spotting. The second mission was “light bombardment,” which consisted of bombing and strafing the enemy. The third mission included air-to-air combat for control of the skies and was called “fighting aviation.”<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.marines.mil/Portals/1/Publications/Marine%20Corps%20Aviation%20The%20Early%20Years%201912-1940%20PCN%2019000316800_1.pdf|title=Marine Corps Aviation: The Early Years 1912–1940 (Part 1)|author=Edward C. Johnson|work=History and Museums Division Headquarters USMC}}</ref>

On January 17, 1927, Major Brainard flew from Washington, D.C., to [[Pensacola, Florida]], in 6 hours 45 minutes. A few days later, he made the return trip in just 5 hours 25 minutes. Brainard set a record time of 2 hours 5 minutes from [[Buffalo, New York]], to Washington, D.C., leading a formation of Curtiss Hawks. On September 18, 1927, he placed first in a seaplane race in [[New Haven, Connecticut]].<ref name=":1" />

In December 1927, Major Brainard obtained the Marine Corps’ first cargo plane, a [[Fokker F.VII|Fokker Trimotor]] from [[Atlantic Aircraft]], and made the first flight across the [[Caribbean]]. He and the crew were flying from [[Miami]] to [[Nicaragua]], but were forced to land in [[Honduras]] when they ran low on fuel. They finished the trip the next day, arriving in [[Managua]] on December 4.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":02">{{cite web|url=https://www.marines.mil/portals/1/Publications/Marine%20Corps%20Aviation%20The%20Early%20Years%201912-1940%20PCN%2019000316800_2.pdf?ver=2012-10-11-163525-807|title=Marine Corps Aviation: The Early Years 1912–1940 (Part 2)|author=Edward C. Johnson|work=History and Museums Division Headquarters USMC}}</ref>

== Post-Marine Corps life == In May 1929, Major Brainard left the Marine Corps in order to take the position of Vice President at [[Curtiss Flying Service]].<ref name=":2" />

In November 1931, Brainard was an honorary [[pallbearer]] at Colonel [[Thomas C. Turner]]'s funeral in [[Arlington National Cemetery]]. Turner had assumed the position of Officer in Charge, Aviation after Brainard's exit from the Marines. Turner was killed when he was struck by an aircraft propeller in Haiti.

In November 1951, his nephew George Spencer Brainard, who had also become a Naval Aviator, was killed in a crash landing aboard the carrier {{USS|Antietam|CV-36|6}} during the [[Korean War]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/archives/action-reports/Korean%20War%20-%20Carrier%20Combat/PDF%27s/cv36aa-51.pdf |title=Action Report for the period 15 October through 16 November 1951 |publisher=Commanding Officer, U.S.S. Antietam (CV-36) |date=November 17, 1951 |access-date=2022-07-06}}</ref>

[[File:ANCExplorer Edwin Halstead Brainard grave.jpg|thumb|right|Grave of Brainard at Arlington National Cemetery]] Edwin H. Brainard died on February 27, 1957, in [[Pinellas County, Florida]]. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.<ref>[https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CghicmFpbmFyZBIFZWR3aW4-/ Burial Detail: Brainard, Edwin H] – ANC Explorer</ref>

== See also == * [[Alfred A. Cunningham]] – early USMC aviator

== References == <references />

==External links== *{{commons category-inline}}

{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{succession box | title = [[Deputy Commandant for Aviation|Officer in Charge, Aviation]] | years = March 3, 1925 – May 9, 1929 | before = [[Thomas C. Turner]] | after = [[Thomas C. Turner]] }} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brainard, Edwin H.}} [[Category:1882 births]] [[Category:1957 deaths]] [[Category:Military personnel from Connecticut]] [[Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I]] [[Category:Aviators from Connecticut]] [[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]] [[Category:American military personnel of the Banana Wars]] [[Category:Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States)]] [[Category:Recipients of the Silver Star]] [[Category:United States Marine Corps officers]] [[Category:United States Naval Aviators]]