Col. William H. Miller, 79, US Army-Retired, died February 28, 2004 at Bay Pines Veterans Hospital.
He was born in Rienzi, MS and was a 41-year career military officer with the Army, serving during World War II, Korea, and three tours of duty in Vietnam. Mr. Miller was a recipient of two Silver Stars for heroism in Korea and Vietnam. He was Senior Advisor to the 2nd ARVN Division during the Vietnam War, and was a commander of Army forces at the famous Battle of An Loc during the 1973 Spring Offensive. He retired to Fayetteville, NC in 1981 and moved to St. Petersburg in 1996.
Survivors include his daughter, Donna L. Reid of Gaithersburg, MD; his three sons: William H. Miller, Jr., Maj. Gen. Thomas G. Miller, presently serving as Director of Operations in Iraq, and Ronald Miller, all of Atlanta, GA.; his sister, Betty Fox of Mobile, AL; 7 grandchildren and 1 great-grandson. Full military honors were conducted by the Army Memorial Honor Guard at Arlington National Cemetery on March 9, 2004.
You made the world a safer place for us all, thank you and may you rest in peace !!
Dearest Daddy, you are always in my thoughts and my dreams. I will always love you. Footie
Dearest Daddy, you are always in my thoughts and my dreams. I will always love you. Footie
Served with Colonel ’Wild Bill’ Miller during his tour as the Senior Advisor with MACV Advisory Team 70 and the Division Combat Avisory Team DCAT to the 5th Infantry Division RVN from May 12 1971 – April 6 1972. We were always upfront, close, and personal with each other. He was a very fine and colorful person, and soldier. We named him ’Wild Bill’, which he enjoyed, because of his antics when piloting the UH1 that we used for an admin bird. He would make sure that everyone buckled up before takeoff. As we would buzz the canopy below by about 20 meters, he would go full pitch without warning while cackling with a joyous laughter when our heads would hit the roof of the bird. I have many memories of him and how he ran the area of operations between Lai Khe RVN and Snoul Cambodia with the 5th Division RVN. He was an American fighting man who is now among the millions whose efforts are so barely sung. Men of his caliber contributed so greatly to the preservation of our way of life. ’Wild Bill’ – we who have been there salute you.
during 1963 while he was serving with the ARVN 5th Div he was the most outstanding advisor. Why didn’t this outstanding officer end up with 3 stars?
I served with with this great soldier in the US, Hawaii and in Vietnam. I ran into him one evening at Pleiku, Vietnam, as a Major, heading to the 4th Inf Div for reassignment,following my tour with Special Forces. Before I could get orders, he grabbed my rucksack, threw it on his chopper and said, “Come with me to I Corps, I’m making you my Bn Operations Officer. I’ll have CPT Morse, my adjutant, get you some orders.” That evening,several hundred miles away, I was near Chu Lai in maybe the best fighting battalion in the country. We had just moved into to an area handled by marines.
LTC Miller set an unmatched example and expected the best from all. He was level-headed, daring and selfless in every way. He brought out the best under the toughest circumstances. Everyone was expected to be top notch. Hey, we had a Chaplain who preferred being with our forward units–a Silver Star recipient who died from wounds received while forward with the Recon Platoon. We had a Surgeon who would leave the safety of his bunker to treat our wounded anywhere on the field of battle. This tough guy could have been one of our unit’s top snipers. We had units move and engage the enemy in areas previously unscathed. Because of our disposition, we enticed the enemy in close to our forward units nightly, then, hit them with all we had.
Miller expected every subordinate leader and every soldier to be top notch, and you know what, they responded. He imbued a certain leadership that reverberated throughout the command. When “Wild Bill” rotated, he convinced higher to allow me to take the command. Unfortunately, that only lasted until another LTC would move up to get his “ticket punched”. That’s the way things happened in ’Nam.
It was an honor to serve with LTC Miller. I wanted to see him make General. I would have loved to have commanded a battalion or a brigade under his charge. They didn’t make many like him.
I knew his wife during earlier days and saw her years later at Fayette-ville, NC. My best to all who were privileged to service with this great soldier.
“Golden Dragon, Sir”! We remain “Right of the Line”. May we meet again on high. Dick Carvell
Wild Bill, thanks for your service and getting us out alive!!Patrick Freeman ,Captain, US Army 1/14 1966-1967
I was so proud serving under you at the 101st Airborne. You ran everything the way it should have been.
The trust that members had for you was so obvious & forth coming. After I got out, I remember seeing
a National Geographic Program of the Tet Offensive in Nam showing your interview & your experience
during that time and I was so proud to see you on this documentary. Rest in Eternal Piece sir and I
will never forget the privilege of being part of your unit command. We will meet again in the stars!
Was this soldier in New Zealand around 1944
Oh such great memories. I was drafted, trained Infantry and went to Vietnam February 1967 and came home February 1968… I was given a send off by family and friends in Bills Cafe, of Annandale Va. ( Not Wild Bills Cafe) but on the bar was a news paper article about Col Miller and his unit in Vietnam… I arrived at Bein Hoa replacement center Vietnam and a few days later deployed to 3rd Brigade 25th Infantry, 1/14 Infantry B Co Golden Dragons Right of The Line in Pleiku Vietnam… I remembered this unit name because in that bar back home the article about Col Miller was this Unit,,,, How did of all places I could been assigned did I get to this Unit… Small world,,,, but I immediately felt I kind of knew someone…. I was an RTO for my Infantry unit and low and behold one day our Battalion Commander came to our LZ out west of Pleiku almost to Cambodia and Laos…at that time I had become the RTO for the CO and brought in the Cols’ chopper and greeted him with a welcome and words about back home from Annandale,,, he was quite a great leader and cared so much for all of us… He said let’s sit awhile and have some of your coffee,,, We did and from that day on we became good friends… When he went home he even spent time with my mother and wife in Annandale Va… He was lovingly tough and I am so proud to have known him and served with him,,, like many of us I came home as Infantry Sgt, and finish my time in Army and dealt with an up hill time adjusting back home and lost touch with Wild Bill… So to day I send much respect and appreciation for a great great man.