Mark H. Brown was born in 1900 and spent the early years of his life on an Iowa farm. After graduating from high school, he enlisted and spent several months in the Army at the end of World War I. He then went on to college and graduated with a degree in agronomy. He farmed for over five years before returning to school for his M.S. and PhD in soil research. By 1934, he was working for what is now the Soil Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. As a soil scientist he was involved with a number of field surveys which involved extensive use of aerial photographs. This training was extremely valuable to Brown once he was commissioned into the Army Air Force and assigned to an intelligence unit in England. Brown was reassigned to the Headquarters of the 4th Bomb Wing under the command of General Curtis LeMay and given the task of Chief Photo Interpreter. After promotion to Major, Brown was transferred to the United States Strategic Bombing Survey (U.S.S.B.S.) and worked with aerial photographs assessing bomb damage. He was then assigned to Japan, becoming the only Air Force intelligence officer to serve the U.S.S.B.S. in both Europe and Japan. Returning to the United States in 1946, Major Brown became an intelligence instructor at Air University, then was assigned at Headquarters Strategic Air Command where he worked until the armistice was signed with Korea. In August of 1953, he resigned from active duty, joined the Reserves, and was assigned to the Directorate of Intelligence. He also continued to pursue his interest in history, co-authoring two books with W. R. Felton entitled "The Frontier Years" and "Before Barbed Wire." He later authored "The Plainsmen of the Yellowstone" and "Flight of the Nez Perce." Mark Brown died in 1988.
From the description of Mark H. Brown collection, 1929-1967. (US Air Force Academy). WorldCat record id: 643082049
