E19
2 July 2000, 13:41
Army hero of Vietnam War dies at age 55
St. Petersburg, Florida – A legendary Vietnam War hero passes away at Bay
Pines Veterans Hospital
By George Coryell of the Tampa Tribune
When he was told six weeks ago that he had only a short time to live,
Franklin “Doug” Miller didn’t blanch.
“His concern was not for himself, but how to take care of his kids,” said
Jeff Barber, vice chairman of the Special Operations Memorial Foundation.
The retired Army Green Beret died at 9 AM on Friday, June 30, 2000 at age 55
of pancreatic cancer. His heroism during the Vietnam War remains vivid
still in today’s military.
Army Gen. Henry Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the
loss was one that all in the military would feel. “We have lost an
individual , I think, who served as an icon to what service in the armed
forces is about,” Shelton said.
Miller’s attention to detail, combined with his moral and physical courage,
made him the ideal soldier, he said. “Doug Miller epitomized that,” Shelton
said. “He will be sorely missed.”
Miller was not widely known to the outside world; but within the small
community of commandos, he was a legend. So much so, that when word spread
that Miller had been diagnosed with cancer, Ross Perot, long a supporter of
such missions, asked to check Miller’s medical records.
“Ross Perot called personally,” said retired Green Beret Col. Rod Nishimura
of Valrico. “Perot’s doctors looked at the medical record. Nothing could
be done.”
Miller spent 6 1/2 years in Vietnam in the secret Studies and Observations
Group, which raided across the borders of Cambodia and Laos, attacking the
North Vietnamese Army.
He joined the Green Berets partly to compete with his older brother, Walter,
who was already in the force and now lives in Alaska. Miller went to
Vietnam in March 1966 and left in November 1972. While leading Team
Vermont, Miller took part in an action described as “the Vietnamese Alamo,”
which earned him the Medal of Honor.
On May 1, 1970, Miller led a seven-man group of Montagnards and Americans on
a patrol into Laos. One of the men tripped a booby trap that wounded four
soldiers. Others fell to enemy fire, until there was only Miller, shot
through the chest, and still battling about 30 North Vietnamese troops.
“A voice told me to calm down or I was going to go into shock,” Miller said
in an earlier interview with the Tampa Tribune. The disembodied voice was
one he recognized, that of Sgt. Roy Bumgardner, who had been his combat
mentor in Vietnam.
“It was like a religious experience. I knew something had happened. I was
actually falling and thinking, “Why am I falling?”
When you see that much blood, and you know that it is yours, it has a
tendency to scare you.”
He pulled himself to his feet and held off two more attacks before
reinforcements arrived. Miller and two others survived, and he received the
Medal of Honor from President Nixon. When asked by the president where he
would like to be posted, Miller asked to go back to Vietnam.
“I liked being there. I was in my element,” he said. “That’s what all the
training was for.”
Miller’s actions in Vietnam garnered not only the nation’s highest combat
award, but also six Purple Hearts, a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and an
Air Medal.
Miller retired as a command sergeant major in 1992, and moved to St Pete
Beach at the urging of friend Gary Littrell, who also is a Medal of Honor
recipient.
Miller worked at Bay Pines as a benefits counselor until July 1999, when
combat injuries forced him to retired.
In recent years his lung worsened from the AK-47 round that he took in the
chest, but the cancer was unexpected. Miller had gone to Bay Pines Hospital
for a routine checkup when he was told the news.
It came at a time when he was trying to sell his recently republished
memoirs to raise money for his children Joshua, 18 and Danielle, 16, who
lived with him. Another daughter, Melia, 12, lives with her mother in
Hawaii.
Though he continued to teach occasionally at Fort Bragg, N.C., Miller’s
focus shifted from combat to his children. His face would light with joy at
watching them accomplish something. “Actually I learn a lot from them every
single day,” Miller said last year. “Just life itself, seeing it from
their point of view.”
Miller believed you should be willing to see children through their learning
experiences.
“You can’t manufacture quality time with a kid. Quality time is those brief
moments when they need you to answer those questions they have,” he said.
“They’ve got a chance to make decisions. If they made a bad decision, they
see the results right there.”
Army Gen. Peter Schoomaker, commander in chief of the U.S. Special
Operations Command, said Miller was an inspiration in life who remained
courageous to the end.
“Doug Miller was an incredibly selfless person, a great soldier, friend and
loving father who always put others before himself,” Schoomker said.
“He will be greatly missed by all of us in the special operations
community,” he said. “But his example of the warrior spirit will continue
to inspire us to do our duty in the face of great odds.”
Nishimura said Miller was concerned that his children be able to stay in the
house in St. Pete Beach. The Special Forces Association is accepting
donations for the children. Anyone wishing to donate can contact Nishimura
at (813) 653-4554.
A service is planned Friday at the Special Operations Memorial in front of
the U.S. Special Operations
Command at MacDill Air Force Base at 9 a.m.
After the service, Miller asked to be cremated and that his ashes be
scattered in his native New Mexico.
The lesson Miller most liked to pass on to inexperienced troops was one he
lived.
“Share your fears with yourself and share your courage with others,” he
said. “You will inspire people to do things that are incredible, inspire
them to do things beyond your wildest dreams.”
Here's the mailing address for anyone on SOCNET who would like to contribute to the trust fund set up for Doug Miller's children.
Franklin D. Miller Trust
PO Box 4088
Bay Pines, FL 33774
St. Petersburg, Florida – A legendary Vietnam War hero passes away at Bay
Pines Veterans Hospital
By George Coryell of the Tampa Tribune
When he was told six weeks ago that he had only a short time to live,
Franklin “Doug” Miller didn’t blanch.
“His concern was not for himself, but how to take care of his kids,” said
Jeff Barber, vice chairman of the Special Operations Memorial Foundation.
The retired Army Green Beret died at 9 AM on Friday, June 30, 2000 at age 55
of pancreatic cancer. His heroism during the Vietnam War remains vivid
still in today’s military.
Army Gen. Henry Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the
loss was one that all in the military would feel. “We have lost an
individual , I think, who served as an icon to what service in the armed
forces is about,” Shelton said.
Miller’s attention to detail, combined with his moral and physical courage,
made him the ideal soldier, he said. “Doug Miller epitomized that,” Shelton
said. “He will be sorely missed.”
Miller was not widely known to the outside world; but within the small
community of commandos, he was a legend. So much so, that when word spread
that Miller had been diagnosed with cancer, Ross Perot, long a supporter of
such missions, asked to check Miller’s medical records.
“Ross Perot called personally,” said retired Green Beret Col. Rod Nishimura
of Valrico. “Perot’s doctors looked at the medical record. Nothing could
be done.”
Miller spent 6 1/2 years in Vietnam in the secret Studies and Observations
Group, which raided across the borders of Cambodia and Laos, attacking the
North Vietnamese Army.
He joined the Green Berets partly to compete with his older brother, Walter,
who was already in the force and now lives in Alaska. Miller went to
Vietnam in March 1966 and left in November 1972. While leading Team
Vermont, Miller took part in an action described as “the Vietnamese Alamo,”
which earned him the Medal of Honor.
On May 1, 1970, Miller led a seven-man group of Montagnards and Americans on
a patrol into Laos. One of the men tripped a booby trap that wounded four
soldiers. Others fell to enemy fire, until there was only Miller, shot
through the chest, and still battling about 30 North Vietnamese troops.
“A voice told me to calm down or I was going to go into shock,” Miller said
in an earlier interview with the Tampa Tribune. The disembodied voice was
one he recognized, that of Sgt. Roy Bumgardner, who had been his combat
mentor in Vietnam.
“It was like a religious experience. I knew something had happened. I was
actually falling and thinking, “Why am I falling?”
When you see that much blood, and you know that it is yours, it has a
tendency to scare you.”
He pulled himself to his feet and held off two more attacks before
reinforcements arrived. Miller and two others survived, and he received the
Medal of Honor from President Nixon. When asked by the president where he
would like to be posted, Miller asked to go back to Vietnam.
“I liked being there. I was in my element,” he said. “That’s what all the
training was for.”
Miller’s actions in Vietnam garnered not only the nation’s highest combat
award, but also six Purple Hearts, a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and an
Air Medal.
Miller retired as a command sergeant major in 1992, and moved to St Pete
Beach at the urging of friend Gary Littrell, who also is a Medal of Honor
recipient.
Miller worked at Bay Pines as a benefits counselor until July 1999, when
combat injuries forced him to retired.
In recent years his lung worsened from the AK-47 round that he took in the
chest, but the cancer was unexpected. Miller had gone to Bay Pines Hospital
for a routine checkup when he was told the news.
It came at a time when he was trying to sell his recently republished
memoirs to raise money for his children Joshua, 18 and Danielle, 16, who
lived with him. Another daughter, Melia, 12, lives with her mother in
Hawaii.
Though he continued to teach occasionally at Fort Bragg, N.C., Miller’s
focus shifted from combat to his children. His face would light with joy at
watching them accomplish something. “Actually I learn a lot from them every
single day,” Miller said last year. “Just life itself, seeing it from
their point of view.”
Miller believed you should be willing to see children through their learning
experiences.
“You can’t manufacture quality time with a kid. Quality time is those brief
moments when they need you to answer those questions they have,” he said.
“They’ve got a chance to make decisions. If they made a bad decision, they
see the results right there.”
Army Gen. Peter Schoomaker, commander in chief of the U.S. Special
Operations Command, said Miller was an inspiration in life who remained
courageous to the end.
“Doug Miller was an incredibly selfless person, a great soldier, friend and
loving father who always put others before himself,” Schoomker said.
“He will be greatly missed by all of us in the special operations
community,” he said. “But his example of the warrior spirit will continue
to inspire us to do our duty in the face of great odds.”
Nishimura said Miller was concerned that his children be able to stay in the
house in St. Pete Beach. The Special Forces Association is accepting
donations for the children. Anyone wishing to donate can contact Nishimura
at (813) 653-4554.
A service is planned Friday at the Special Operations Memorial in front of
the U.S. Special Operations
Command at MacDill Air Force Base at 9 a.m.
After the service, Miller asked to be cremated and that his ashes be
scattered in his native New Mexico.
The lesson Miller most liked to pass on to inexperienced troops was one he
lived.
“Share your fears with yourself and share your courage with others,” he
said. “You will inspire people to do things that are incredible, inspire
them to do things beyond your wildest dreams.”
Here's the mailing address for anyone on SOCNET who would like to contribute to the trust fund set up for Doug Miller's children.
Franklin D. Miller Trust
PO Box 4088
Bay Pines, FL 33774