JOHN F. MILLER

1957 VFW Commander

Corporal US ARMY
1925 - 1985

Information Robert Wegner told in his military write-up that mentions John Miller.
The 38th Parallel was the dividing line between North and South Korea, and border skirmishes and raids had persisted since WWII had ended.
The situation escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces invaded South Korea June 25, 1950, and UN troops - 88% from the United States - were called in to help South Korea repel the invasion. The defenders were nearly driven out of their country by September 1950.
John Miller from Manning was one of the US troops attempting to hold the line, and his unit was forced to the ocean.
With the US and twenty other countries aiding South Korean forces, over the next two months they drove the North Koreans past the 38th Parallel and almost to the Yalu River at the Chinese border.

Article from Jack Lorenzen's scrapbook.
War Experience Told By Veteran of Korean Action
Devastation of war can be appreciated only by those who have witnessed a country laid bare by the ravages of modern warfare.

That is the thought of Corporal John Miller, son of Mr. and Mrs. Walt D. Miller, Manning, who returned from Korean battle fronts last week after more than eight months of duty in that nation.

Corporal Miller was recalled to service as an inactive reservist last September. Prior to that time he had served from January 31, 1949, to February 22, 1950, part of his duty being in Japan.

After his recall he was flown from Fort Lewis, Washington, via Alaska and the Aleutians to Japan in November 1950. The trip required 36 hours of flying time. After a brief stay in Japan, his outfit - Company I, Seventh Regiment, Third Division - landed at Wonsan, Korea, November 17. The Manning corporal was a BAR - heavy automatic rifleman.

After a few weeks of front-line action, John was assigned to driving a jeep for Captain Grogan and on February 2 was transferred to regimental service as a mechanic. He was serving in that capacity when his shipping orders came.

John joined a replacement company at Seoul July 7 and went to Inchon from where they were to leave the country. Because of heavy concentration of shipping, however, they were sent to Pusan and on July 18 left for Japan, arriving the following day.

After five days in Sasebo, Japan, they went by train to Yokohama and left by ship for the states on July 22, arriving at San Francisco, August 2. John received his release from duty at Camp Carson, Colorado, and his parents met him in Omaha last Wednesday.

In recounting some of his experiences in Korea, John reported that the most touching scenes were the natives being shuttled back and forth from their homes as the tide of battle changed. The pitiful plight of the little children was also "hard to take." Villages south of Seoul, he said, were not as heavily damaged as those northward where fighting has been most concentrated.

North Koreans and Red Chinese troops suffered untold casualties during the months John was there. Chinese troops, as though doped, charged into the face of murderous United Nations fire, often being forced to travel over piles of their own dead in wave-after-wave suicidal offensives, he recalled.

Most vicious among the men carrying United Nations colors, John said, were the Turks. They fought with rifles until ammunition was exhausted and then resorted to their sabers and knives.

Heaviest fighting experienced by Co. I was in the Chosen reservoir sector when troops went to help evacuate U.S. marines who had been cut off from their supplies. Bitter cold weather also took a heavy toll of troops who suffered frostbite and subsequent amputations.

Prior to leaving Korea, John found a fellow Manning soldier, Jack Lorenzen, who coincidentally was driving jeep for Captain Grogan - the same officer previously driven by the local vet.

John says it seems unreal to be sleeping in his own bed at home again. During his tenure as automatic rifleman there were no beds, but later as a mechanic he managed to sleep on an old reliable array cot.

Although subject to recall for further military duty until 1955, John is planning on farming the home place with his dad a mile and a half west of Manning. During spare time he is viewing several reels of movies he took while stationed in Korea, but that's as close as he wants to get to the country again.

IN MEMORY OF JOHN F. MILLER

BORN APRIL 16, 1925 CARROLL, IOWA
DIED JANUARY 18, 1985 UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER, OMAHA
AGE 59 YEARS, 9 MONTHS, AND 2 DAYS
SERVICES MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 1985, 2:00 PM OHDE FUNERAL HOME, MANNING, IOWA
OFFICIATING REVEREND CARL SINNING
MUSIC CONNIE SIEPKER, ORGANIST
JUDY JOENS, SOLOIST
INTERMENT MANNING CITY CEMETERY
ACTIVE CASKETBEARERS: DONALD PFANNKUCH, ROBERT BARSBY, SR., CURT STRIBE, IVAN OPPERMAN, JOHN OPPERMAN, RAY HACKER
HONORARY CASKETBEARERS: MEMBERS OF VFW POST 3517, MANNING
MILITARY HONORS VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS POST 3517, MANNING
EMIL EWOLDT POST 22, AMERICAN LEGION, MANNING
MEMORIAL SERVICES MANUAL LODGE 450 AF & AM, SALONA CHAPTER 231, ORDER OF EASTERN STAR SUNDAY EVENING, JANUARY 20, 1985, 7:30 PM OHDE FUNERAL HOME

THE FAMILY WISHES TO EXPRESS THEIR GRATITUDE FOR YOUR KINDNESS EVIDENCED IN THOUGHT, WORD, AND DEED, AND INVITES YOU TO JOIN THEM FOR LUNCH AND FELLOWSHIP AT THE VFW HALL FOLLOWING THE COMMITTAL SERVICE

John F. Miller, 59, a farmer and farm machinery repair shop operator, died Friday, January 18, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha of complications from bone marrow treatment for cancer.
Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Monday, January 21, at the Ohde Funeral Home in Manning with the Rev. Carl Sinning officiating. Connie Siepker was organist and Judy Joens vocalist.
Burial was in the Manning cemetery. Serving as casketbearers were Donald Pfannkuch, Robert Barsby Sr., Curt Stribe, Ivan Opperman, John Opperman and Ray Hacker. Honorary bearers were members of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 3517. Memorial services were conducted at the Manning funeral home at 7:30 p.m. Sunday by Manual Lodge No. 450, A.F. & A.M. and Salona Chapter No. 231, Order of Eastern Star. Mr. Miller is survived by his wife Mary Ann, Manning; a son David, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska; a daughter Jane Miller, attending the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, and his mother Mrs. Emma Miller, a resident of St. Anthony Nursing Home in Carroll. He was preceded in death by his father, Walter D. Miller, on March 1, 1983.
Mr. Miller was born at St. Anthony Hospital in Carroll on April 16, 1925, a son of Walter D. Emma H. Pruter Miller, who lived near Manning. He attended school in Manning and graduated from Manning High School in 1943.

He served with the United States Army during the occupation of Japan and was later recalled to duty in the Korean conflict. He was discharged as a corporal.

He worked as a mechanic at the Chevrolet Garage in Manning and later farmed and operated a farm machinery repair shop. On June 5, 1958, he was married to Mary Ann Beaver by the Rev. Carl Sinning at her parents' home at Detroit Lakes, Minn. During the 1960s and 1970s he operated the Miller Implement Company in Manning. He worked at the M & I Dehy plant for the past several years.

He was active, in the Veterans of Foreign Wars; serving as commander and quartermaster. At one time he was chosen as All-State quartermaster. He was also a member of Emil Ewoldt Post No. 22, American Legion, the Presbyterian church where he served as a trustee, Manual Lodge No. 450, A.F.& A.M. and Salona Chapter No. 231. Order of Eastern Star.

John Miller is buried in the Manning Cemetery.
Section G Row #6 south - north.