Missionary POW during World War II dies at 91

SAN ANGELO, Texas — Fern Harrington Miles, a Southern Baptist missionary who was a prisoner of war (POW) during World War II, died March 31 in San Angelo, Texas. She was 91.

In 1940, the then-Fern Harrington was appointed as a missionary to China by the Foreign Mission Board (now the International Mission Board). Her ability to speak Chinese quickly earned her the respect of the Chinese, but her work was cut short by World War II. After just one year on the field, she was evacuated from China. She relocated to the Philippines but later was captured there by the Japanese military and held as a POW. She was freed by American forces in 1945.

Harrington was able to return to China in 1947, only to be forced out a year later by the communist revolution. She again turned her efforts to ministering to Chinese refugees in the Philippines, helping plant three churches. She spent the remaining time of her missionary career teaching at a Baptist seminary in Taiwan, retiring from the mission board in 1975 after 35 years of service and returning to the United States.

Single until 1976, she married retired Carson-Newman College professor Herbert J. Miles. Together the couple authored four books including “Captive Community,” detailing her experiences as a Japanese POW. Herbert Miles died of cancer in 1994.