Robert P. Briscoe

Robert Pearce Briscoe (February 19, 1897 – October 14, 1968) was an admiral of the United States Navy. He commanded two ships, a destroyer squadron, and an amphibious group during World War II. He later served as Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe, from 1956 to 1959. He was a native of Centreville, Mississippi

Military career

World War I and between the wars According to the New York Times, Briscoe became interested in the Navy when he saw sailing the Mississippi River near his home in 1910.

After further destroyer duty in the USS Flusser (DD-289) and USS Henderson (AP-1), and recruiting duty at Little Rock, Arkansas, he served as Senior Assistant Engineer of the battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48) from 1926 to 1929, then returned to the Naval Academy as an instructor in Mechanical Engineering. From 1931 to 1933 he was on China Station, assigned first as executive officer of the USS Edsall (DD-219), on Yangtze River patrol during the Japanese occupation of Woosung and Manchuria, and later as Communication Officer of the USS Houston (CA-30), flagship of the Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet. He again returned to the Naval Academy in June 1934, and for three years served as head of the Department of Chemistry. Briscoe was said to be "a hunting enthusiast and an avid collector of antiques." He died on October 14, 1968, at his home near Liberty, Mississippi of an apparent heart attack.