Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Former N.M. National Guard chief
SANTA FE, N.M. — Retired Maj. Gen. Franklin Miles, the son of a former New Mexico governor and the head of the New Mexico National Guard during the deadliest prison riot in the state’s history, has died. He was 93.
Relatives of Miles told The New Mexican that the World War II veteran died this week after a short illness.
“He was a very amazing man,” grandson Jason Baca said in an interview Wednesday. “He was a great family man. He was always watching after us.”
Miles was born Jan. 4, 1923, in Tucumcari. He was one of 10 children.
In 1938, Miles’ father, John Miles, was elected to the first of his two, twoyear terms as governor. In an interview, Miles said his parents divorced when he was young and he didn’t know his father until he was in the fifth grade.
After serving in the Philippines near the end of the war, Miles returned home and graduated from the University of New Mexico with a business degree. He went on to work for state government, with jobs that included heading the New Mexico School Depository troubleshooting for the state planning office.
In 1974, then-Gov. Bruce King appointed Miles as adjutant general of the Guard, a position he would keep for more than a decade. Miles said in a September interview that the biggest thing to happen during his tenure was the 1980 Penitentiary of New Mexico uprising that left 33 inmates dead.
The carnage inflicted by inmates on other inmates was “worse than anything I saw in the Philippines,” he had said.
The Guard did not go into the prison during the riot. When inmates would escape into the exercise yard, Miles said his troops would give them blankets because it was snowing at the time.
Miles ran for state land commissioner in 1990 but lost in a six-person Democratic primary.
He was a member of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the National Guard Association and the Kiwanis Club. He also participated in the Senior Olympics.
Baca said his grandfather coached Little League baseball for years — a passion he picked up while at UNM.
In 1997, he was elected commander in chief of the Military Order of the World Wars at its national conference in Baltimore, a position he held for two years. Baca said his grandfather remained active in that organization through the years.
Miles also enjoyed traveling. He went to the White House several times and to the Pentagon. He also frequently visited the National Guard headquarters south of Santa Fe.
“Everything I did was cut and dried, even the prison riots,” Miles said in the recent interview. “Every man has his dignity, and you treat him as such. Don’t ever ask who or what you are. Do the things you need to do, and that will determine who and what you are.”
Miles is survived by his wife, Patricia Miles, and six children: Donna Miles of California; John Miles, Jeff Miles, Larry Miles, Carl Miles of Albuquerque; and Karin Miles of Phoenix.