Published: April 20, 2009 01:25 pm      

Former Chickasha policeman among veterans to be honored

Danny Joe Miller, a long-time Chickasha resident and former Chickasha police officer, will be among 123 American Viet Nam veterans to be honored posthumously in the Memory Ceremony in Washington, D. C. on April 20. These veterans are those whose deaths were a result of their combat in Vietnam but who were not wounded in action.

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This is Danny’s story as told by his wife Pat Miller.

The Vietnam War is the longest war in U. S. history, running from 1959 to 1975. A difficult and controversial conflict, it has taken many years for the wounds of this war to heal. The Vietnam Memorial, dedicated in 1982 and located on the Mall in Washington, D.C. which is known simply as “The Wall,” is dedicated to all who served in Vietnam and includes the names of those American service members who died in this war in Southeast Asia.

But there are many veterans who have died prematurely as a result of the war and whose names will never be commemorated in stone. How do we acknowledge the debt to those whose lives have been cut short because of exposure to a defoliant sprayed in the jungles of Vietnam? How do we help bring closure to those families who grieve their loved one's bitter death even as they grieve their loved one's shattered life? For the service members who returned and their families, the sometimes slow disintegration of body, mind and spirit can be as devastating as wartime loss.

These are the silent casualties who are honored by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund's In Memory Program. A ceremony at the Vietnam Memorial is held annually on the third Monday in April, which is in some places celebrated as Patriots Day. This is particularly appropriate as the suffering of these veterans was endured for far longer than the time spent in combat, enabling them to be examples of patriotism and sacrifice for all Americans.

Danny Joe Miller of Fletcher, Oklahoma, is one of 123 Vietnam veterans to be honored during the 2009 ceremony. The In Memory ceremony will be held on Monday, April 20, at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Born in Blackwell, Miller enlisted in the Army immediately after graduation from Midwest City High School in 1965. After a tour in Korea and a stateside assignment as a Drill Instructor, Miller volunteered for service in Vietnam. In October, 1967, Spec. Miller was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) and served in I Corp in the Central Highlands.

In December, 1967, Miller saw action in the Battle of Tam Quan, an extensive battle lasting almost 2 weeks. Elements of the 1st AIR CAV battled with a NVA regiment on the Bong Son Plains in Binh Din Province near China Beach.

For his actions during this battle while on a combat mission near Dai Dong on Dec. 8,1967, Spec. Miller was awarded the Army Commendation Medal with “V” Device for Heroism.

On Jan. 31, 1968, TET began and the 1st AIR CAV moved north into Quang Tri Province.

The Battle of Quang Tri began on Feb. 16, 1968. After securing a firebase for artillery, Company C, 1/8 CAV moved into a defensive position near Xa Dong. In the early morning hours of Feb. 18, 1968, Miller and his fellow sky troopers of C CO came under ground attack by an NVA battalion. The initial attack was repelled. Within 30 minutes a second attack of heavy mortar and rocket fire ensued. A half hour after that, the company was again barraged by heavy mortar and rocket fire as well as by two ground attacks from the west and northwest. With the help of a heavy barrage of artillery support that caused the plaster to be chipped from the buildings within the perimeter and rain down the on the company’s heads, C CO fired the last of its ordnance. The attack was again repelled and the North Vietnamese were pushed back into irrigation dikes within 100-200 meters of the perimeter. C CO quickly called in for medivac and resupply helicopters then reorganized and consolidated its position in preparation for the next attack.

Although there was another mortar and rocket attack and an unsuccessful ground attack, this time from the east, the enemy retreated after it’s continue lack of success and the battle was over.

In the aftermath of the battle, it was learned that the North Vietnamese battalion had attacked Charlie CO, 1/8 CAV in the hopes of capturing an American rifle company as a propaganda tool during the TET Offensive. Almost surrounded, Company C was able to hold its position during intense fighting.

For gallantry in action during this hard fought battle on Feb. 18, 1968, Sgt. Miller was awarded the Silver Star Medal.

Meanwhile the siege of the Marines at Khe Sanh, which had begun in late January continued. On April 1, 1968 the 1st AIR CAV was ordered to the area to relieve the Marines at Khe Sanh and open Highway 1. Within five days, some 15,000 troops had been placed on the ground and seven LZs were in operation. Company C, 1/8 CAV left LZ Stud and air assaulted LZ Snapper, located south of Khe Sanh. After rebuffing an enemy attack, they pushed north. As they neared Khe Sanh, 1/8 CAV located large supply caches, including weapons and ammunition in the area. Within three days, much of the enemy had fled, leaving behind large quantities of equipment in the field. The Marines had been relieved and Highway 1 was again open.

Within two days, orders came to withdraw the 1st AIR CAV to prepare to air assault into the A Shau Valley. Located between two high mountain ranges near the Laotian border, the North Vietnamese forces had been in control of the valley since March, 1966 when a Special Forces camp had been overrun. The valley was considered a free fire zone. Anyone unidentified was considered an enemy combatant. Soldiers were to shoot anyone moving around after curfew without first making sure that they were hostile.

Charlie CO, 1/8 CAV, air assaulted the A Shau Valley on April 25, 1968, Sgt. Miller’s 21st birthday. Their mission was to secure the A Luoi Airfield so that the larger aircraft, including C-130’s, could begin bringing in supplies. The weather was a factor with cold rain, fog, low cloud cover and even snow making it difficult for incoming and outgoing aircraft. The 1/8 CAV conducted reconnaissance in force operations moving to the south and west. Numerous large caches of communications equipment, vehicles, ammunition and weapons were found, including both Russian and Chinese made. Extraction of the 1st AIR CAV began 2 weeks later via helicopters as the dirt airfield at A Luoi Airfield had been washed away by the rain. The 1st Air CAV then returned to Quang Tri Province.

Sgt. Miller’s enlistment was up and he left Vietnam enroute to Ft. Lewis, Washington where he was honorably discharged from active duty June 25, 1968. Although his tour in Vietnam was less than nine months, Sgt. Miller fought in three campaigns and during the TET Offensive. He was involved in some of the most intensive fighting of the war in an area where the largest amount of chemicals and defoliants were used. This exposure to these chemicals and defoliants, chief among them Agent Orange, would later lead to Miller’s being diagnosed with diabetes and serious complications which eventually caused his death.

After his honorable discharge from the Army in 1968, Miller went to work for the Chickasha, Police Department, primarily as the Chief of Detectives. In 1981, he went to work for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Miller medically retired from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections in 1999 when his health became too poor to continue working. In 2002, he was rated at 100 percent permanently and totally disabled by the VA due to exposure to Agent Orange and Diabetes Mellitus Type II, which had already caused major organ damage. In 2005, he was placed in a VA contact nursing home in Oklahoma City where he spent the remainder of his days.

Danny Miller died in Oklahoma City on Sept. 23, 2008 at the age of 61. He leaves behind Pat, his beloved wife of almost 25 years, and three children: Buffy, Georgia and Patrick and a wonderful legacy for his family and friends about what service, duty, honor and commitment mean. His greatest lesson was to always keep a sense of humor about you, no matter what the circumstances. He is greatly missed.