Captain Richard Gordon Braley was born on 16 June 1921 in , Los Angeles County, California, USA, the son and elder child of Rex Estes Braley (1890-1981) and Jessie Maude Braley née McCament (1888-1983). United States Federal census returns in 1930 & 1935 show him still residing in Pasadena, Los Angeles.
In 1940 he joined the in Canada and served as a Pilot Officer in based at . On 29 September 1942 he transferred to the attached to the in the of the and was initially based at , Essex. On 23 April 1943 he was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant and on 4 May 1944 was designated as the Flight Commander of 'D' Flight. He was one of the squadron's strafing experts - attacking and destroying numerous trains, a bridge and an electrical plant. He flew over 210 combat missions, first in , then in and .
On 25 May 1944 he was promoted to Captain and flew 3 missions as Flight Commander of 336 Squadron on D-Day. He was later transferred to the 408th Fighter Squadron attached to the in the Third Fighter Command based at , 7615 Esler Field Rd, Pineville, Louisiana, USA, from 6 November 1944 to May 1945. He was awarded the , the , the and the .
On 11 November 1950 he married Virginia Holly (1928-2018) in Los Angeles, California, and they had two children, Richard and Elizabeth. He became the owner/operator of Smith, Braley Investment Company, a construction and finance firm.
He died, aged 84 years, on 24 January 2006 at , Orange County, California, USA and his .
Credit for this entry to: Andrew Behan.
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