Gordon Bruce Miller
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
MILLER, Gordon Bruce
Gordon Bruce Miller was born on February 9th 1925 to Elmer V. & Marie [Bergquist] Miller in Duluth, Minnesota.
Mr. Miller enlisted for military service on June 12th 1943 during WWII. He began serving in the European Theater beginning in November 1943 in the U.S. Army infantry. He rose to the rank of Private 1st Class (PFC).
He was declared missing in action as of January 26th 1944. According to the record he kept, on January 22nd 1944, he was captured by German troops and became a POW.
PFC Miller was imprisoned in Stalag 4B (February 2-10, 1944); in Stalag 2B (February 13-June 1, 1944), in Stalag 3B (June 3, 1944-January 31, 1945).
He and a group of POWs left Stalag 3B on January 31, 1945, and walked day and night for seven days on the road to reach Stalag 3A, where he stayed from February 7 until March 15, 1945. On March 15, they began walking to Stalag 11A and arrived on March 19. On April 12, they began walking from Stalag 11A. On April 26, they became free men.
When he was a POW, the Germans, in an effort to fool American soldiers, were taking the prisoners’ jackets. Gordy cut up his jacket in front of the German officer and was cut by the German soldier with his bayonet. At a later date President Eisenhower was shaking all the POW’s hands and asked Gordy Miller where his jacket was. When Gordy told him what had happened, the President gave Gordy his own jacket.
PFC Miller was honorably discharged on October 31st 1945. After the war he returned home and married Grace Margaret [Deck] in 1947 and they started a family.
You can read his brother, Clem William Miller's, account in the book titled "Some Things You Never Forget: Five Battle Stars from Tunisia to the Po Valley.
Mr. Miller was decorated with the Purple Heart 50+ years after he had earned it. Gordy died on March 2nd 2001. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Duluth.
Source(s): Articles (below); information from veteran and family.
Title of article: Duluth Soldier Missing in Italy
“Pvt. Gordon B. Miller, 19, Duluth, has been reported missing in action in Italy since January 26, the war department has notified his parents, Mr. And Mrs. E. V. Miller, 514 North Fourth Avenue East. Private Miller was with the infantry and had been overseas since November, 1943. The last word from their son was received January 26 by Mr. and Mrs. Miller. At that time he was in North Africa.”
Source of article: Duluth News Tribune, March 15, 1944
The Army didn't recognize my father's request for the Purple Heart because no one could document the event. He finally received the Purple Heart in June, 2000, and here are a couple of media stories that reflect the struggle to validate his actions. He passed away in March of 2001 after a long illness.
Title of article: Duluth Vet Gets Belated Purple Heart
Posted 11:40 a.m., June 7, 2000
More than 50 years after World War II, a Duluth man was recognized for his battlefield contributions. Gordon Miller was wounded in 1944, during a battle in Cassino, Italy. Tuesday, he received a Purple Heart, thanks to the efforts of a few high school students. According to News 6 reporter Jason Rice, students at Duluth's Marshall School gave two standing ovations for Miller during the ceremony in which he received his medal. Marshall's Honors German III students recently learned about Miller, and they launched a campaign to bring home his long-overdue recognition. After more than 50 years--with the help of some students and a senator--Duluth's Gordon Miller is awarded the Purple Heart.
By Chuck Frederick, Duluth News Tribune staff writer
A single tear stained the cheek of a man who had just been introduced on stage as a "genuine war hero.'' Gordon Miller, a veteran of World War II, shook his head in disbelief. Then, beaming, he grasped the smooth, blue leather of the paperback-sized box. He had waited more than half a lifetime for it. "After 50-some years, I can't believe it,'' the Duluth man said inside the Marshall School auditorium Tuesday during a ceremony awarding him the Purple Heart. "This thing isn't going to get me any more money or anything. But I earned it,'' Miller said. "I deserved it. I fought my butt off for this thing. I can't believe it's finally mine.''
The military honor came more than 55 years after Miller was wounded in battle. But it also came just six weeks after a group of Marshall students launched a letter-writing campaign to undo what they felt was a decades-old injustice. Minnesota Sen. Rod Grams agreed. After receiving the students' letters, his staff started the paperwork that led to Tuesday's ceremony. "It's unreal,'' said Miller, 74. "I've been working on this for 50-odd years. These kids get it done in a month. I give these kids and Grams's office and Marshall School all the credit in the world. And all my thanks.'' Miller grew up in Duluth's Central Hillside, the son of a machinist for Clyde Iron. He was 18 and fresh out of high school when the Army drafted him in November 1943. Two months later, he was sent to the front lines with a machine gun in his hands and hundreds of fellow soldiers at his side. On his second day of battle, he crossed the Rapido River in Cassino, Italy. The Germans attacked, destroying the bridge behind him and killing hundreds of Americans. Miller fell as shrapnel ripped into his right thigh and his left ankle. His left index finger was crushed and his nose was bloodied and broken. With casualties high, he and other survivors were forced to surrender.
While a doctor at a German aid station bandaged his wounds, Miller's captors said that five of the Americans could go back and retrieve their wounded. With the battle still raging, only Miller agreed to go. For two days, he said, he carried soldier after soldier to the aid station.
"He saved at least 50 men,'' Miller's son, Jerry, said Tuesday. "To this day, he wishes he could have saved more.'' Miller was a prisoner of war for 16 months. He remembers a bayonet being jammed against his throat and a German guard demanding that he turn over his field jacket. Knowing the Germans used the jackets to infiltrate American ranks, Miller used a razor blade to shred his coat before turning it over. "Brave soldier,'' the German said before cutting Miller's throat, although not severely. Miller was liberated on April 26, 1945, by troops who included Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. The man who would later become president asked Miller about his missing jacket. Miller told him the story. Moved, Eisenhower handed him a new field jacket.
On the 55th anniversary of the day he was liberated, Miller was asked to speak to his grandson's sophomore German class at Marshall. "He had such riveting stories,'' German teacher Becky Waterhouse said. "It's hard, sometimes, to get the kids' attention, but he had no problem.'' Miller was asked why he never received a Purple Heart, the medal that has been awarded to wounded soldiers since it was created by George Washington in 1782. He told the students he tried, many times, but was repeatedly turned away because he couldn't provide evidence of his injuries. His commanding officer and other superiors had been killed in the battle, he said. And because he was treated by a German doctor, he had no medical records. The students immediately decided something needed to be done. They penned letters on Miller's behalf and mailed them en masse to Sens. Rod Grams and Paul Wellstone and to Rep. Jim Oberstar. "His tales of bravery were inspiring,'' said Lucas Brown, one of the students who wrote a letter. "It was the least we could do to repay Mr. Miller for sharing his story with us. We are all very grateful.'' "The kids' letters were so wonderful,'' said Jennifer Casanova, a caseworker for Grams's office who attended Tuesday's ceremony. "They talked about the Eisenhower jacket, how proud they were. The students moved us.'' A growing number of Northland veterans are receiving Purple Hearts and other medals years and even decades after their service, said Brad Bennett, the commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 137 in Lincoln Park (West End) and a two-time Purple Heart recipient. It's part of an effort to honor the soldiers before it's too late. Every day in America, 1,500 World War II veterans die. "It still isn't an everyday event, but it is happening more often,'' Bennett said. "These guys bled for their country. They should get what they have coming. They deserve the public recognition.''
Hundreds of Duluth-area veterans have received the Purple Heart. Fewer than 50 recipients are still alive, said Bennett, who runs Duluth's Purple Heart Chapter. "This day is for Mr. Miller,'' Waterhouse said during Tuesday's ceremony. "But this says an awful lot about our youths, too. It's great for them to see that their voice can be heard. This is awesome for them and for Mr. Miller.''
Albert J. Amatuzio Research Center | Veterans Memorial Hall (vets-hall.org)
Gordon B Miller in Social Security Death Index - Fold3
Gordon Bruce Miller (1925-2001) - Find a Grave Memorial
U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 - Ancestry.com
