Chris Miller
4 JUL 1932 - 20 OCT 1966
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Maggie Miller - Sharon Peters - Carol Baker
50th - MAY 2005
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Maggie (AKA Peggy) Miller
50th - MAY 2005
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Maggie Miller - Roberts - Malones
50th - MAY 2005
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Pam Trobaugh - Buddy Roberts - Maggie Miller - Bob and Carol Thornquist
50th - MAY 2005
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Annette and Bob Henry - Anne and Dan Malone - Maggie Miller - Ed and Pam Trobaugh
Dick and Carol Baker - Bill Street and wife Mary Sansalone - Sharon and Bill Peters - Peggy and Bill Robinson
50th - MAY 2005
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Mary Monahan - Jack Campbell and Maggie Miller
1999
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I - 1
1st Row: Roberts - Robinson - Malone - Peters - Poorman - Klung - Ward
2nd Row: Nichols - Leo Warner - Cairns - Cassells - Smor
3rd Row: Bob Henry - Chris Miller - DeMaris - Garn
4th Row: Dempsie Davis - Trobaugh - Streett - Baker
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Top: Chris Miller - Bill Wilcox - Hank Klung - Bob Henry - Mike Garn
Bottom: Chris Miller
Summer 1953
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Christopher Jesse Miller - Jr. - USMA Class of 1955
"Be thou at Peace"
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Putting together some memories of Christopher Jesse Miller offers
me an opportunity to pay long overdue tribute to a great friend - a true soldier and a good
roommate. This I know: the ultimate sacrifice Chris paid was far too devastating - in all
its many aspects - to go unheralded. My first contact with Chris Miller came at the time assignments were made to regular companies upon conclusion of Beast Barracks which saw us at the beginning of the academic year of 1951. My first bond with Chris was - as plebes - while playing intramural football for Company I-1 in September and October. The rotation of roommates every three months threw Chris - Bill Peters and yours truly together for the second three months of that academic year. We - like most of our classmates - were able to "hang in there" by cooperating amongst ourselves. Our shared experiences came with all the normal trappings of the fourth class that resulted in furthered friendship and increased respect for each other. Then - for the final three months of plebe year - Chris and I roomed with Bill Benassi. As I recall we "drove around" (went on calls - that is) to the room of three members of the Class of 1953; Cadets Curtis Brewer - Howard Matson and James F. Bleecker. They did a good job of keeping us on our toes for those final months of what we considered a truly long year! Again - these circumstances reinforced my camaraderie with - and - added to my esteem for Chris Miller. During that term our environment was greatly enhanced since Chris was the owner of a record player. How we got the LP albums is long since forgotten - but it seems likely that we each contributed by individual purchases. There were many good memories for the three of us from hearing songs such as Bolero - Clare de Lune - a Doris Day album titled - Three Little Words - and other artists' albums. Hearing Bolero or Clare de Lune these days still evokes fond memories of those times. Plebe life was certainly made more bearable as we came to the end of such an eventful year. The two intervening years - as Yearlings and Cows - were successfully accomplished even though we found other classmates to room with for those two years. This likely was the policy which required goats (slower learners) to be paired with hives (the scholarly set), for academic reasons - especially during Cow year. Still the companionship was steadfast, even improved - by virtue of all of us getting to know our other company-mates better. Then - at last - with the first three years behind us - along with our I-1 cohorts we reached that grand and final year. As First Classmen - Chris - Bill Peters and I were reunited as roommates. Once more - there were many memorable shared times and events. One particular memory from that year still stands out in my mind. Chris and I made a trip to the Post Exchange - probably in March of 1955 - to purchase a special LP album that we had seen reviewed in the New York Times. It was quite special (to us) and was entitled - The Confederacy. It was presented by Columbia Records and based on Music of the South During the Years 1861-65. This album was performed by the National Gallery Orchestra and conducted by Mr. Richard Bales. General Lee's farewell to his troops at Appomattox was rendered by his kinsman - Reverend Edward Jennings Lee. For us - this - as well as the music - made it an essential purchase. Some of the songs it contained that we particularly liked were: All Quiet Along the Potomac Tonight - The Yellow Rose of Texas and Dixie's Land With Quickstep and Interlude. Sure enough - we listened to the entire album many times afterward. We shared the purchase price of the album and then entered into an agreement that was later honored. We were to throw knives (and did) to see who would own the album after Graduation. Chris won. Thanks to Maggie - Chris's widow - that special and treasured album is now in my possession. I am - indeed - thankful for her generosity and thoughtfulness. A short time after that purchase - Graduation Week was upon us so that Chris and I were together even more than usual. We double-dated during that week as both of us had invited our future brides to West Point for the occasion. We visited Flirtation Walk with our ladies - took pictures - dined at cafes in Central Valley and attended the many functions and festivities that were scheduled - and - enjoyed those final days of cadet life. Our careers commenced with "donning the Army Blue." That very night - with new Second Lieutenant's bars pinned on crisp - newly tailored summer uniforms - we planned to duly celebrate the day and our accomplishments. Chris and I - with our young ladies - went into New York City from Millington - New Jersey for a dinner and evening to remember. We chose the Stork Club - a setting that was perfect for such an evening; excellent drinks, a grand meal and dancing. Our foursome - on this particularly memorable occasion - was photographed by the club's resident photographer. To this day - that picture brings back truly excellent - fond memories.  After an overnight at my aunt's home in Millington we drove to Westminster - Maryland for a visit with Chris and his family - during which time our families became better acquainted. The highlights of that gathering were meals at Chris' mom's home and the visit we all made to Gettysburg. No better guide to such an important battlefield could have been found than Chris. Since he had grown up so close by and had visited it often we were given an excellent tour. Not long after that we were on our way with fond farewells and loads of memories. In the latter part of 1963 my family - having been notified of an upcoming assignment to Alaska - decided to buy a Volkswagen camper (bus). We planned a trip to Alabama for the purchase and stopped for a visit at Fort Benning with the C.J. Miller family. Afterward they - Chris and family came over to Montgomery and visited with us at my wife's parents home. Since it was an overnight stay for them we decided to have a reuniting dinner and drinks at Maxwell AFB that evening. Pegg was alarmed when baby-sitting arrangements were made but finally reconciled the fears when she finally knew the details; in fact - she was impressed with how young Beverly's grandmother was at the time. The evening was a rousing renewal and we were finally thrown out of the MAFB Officer's Club about three in the morning! It wasn't long after that we learned of Chris getting orders assigning him to Fort Greeley - Alaska. That knowledge allowed us to plan for a stop on our way to Fort Wainwright during the month of August 1964. As this plan came to pass - we stayed overnight with them and renewed connections and made family comparisons. The children of both families - alas - were too young to remember the occasion but we adults certainly enjoyed having our families together once again. Proximity of duty stations allowed us to visit the Millers again later and then have them visit us for Founder's Day in March of 1965. In the latter part of November or early December of that same year I saw Chris for the very last time. Assigned to fly a mission to Fort Greeley - while there - I got together with Chris for a quite brief (in retrospect) visit. I knew at the time I was being reassigned to Vietnam - but - as I recall - Chris had not yet gotten orders to leave Fort Greeley. It was much later that I learned of Chris's death and so knew little of the harm done to his family. The time and circumstances under which I became aware of the loss is not recalled-- no matter how much I want remember. I am confident that Chris's duties were performed with utmost competence and that he was ever guided by those principles and ideals instilled in all of us as members of the Long Gray Line: Duty - Honor - Country. It was truly sad that his family was decimated by the abrupt and premature ending of his life. Chris's son had been born only a few months before he left for Vietnam - so his widow - Maggie - or - as some of us knew her - Pegg - was left with their two small daughters and a son of less than six months' age. This modest effort to offer tribute will be concluded in this wise: Christopher Jesse Miller - Jr. - USMA Class of 1955. "Be thou at Peace". Buddy Roberts Remembering Chris as roommate - classmate - and friend one aspect - in particular - stands out. Everything Chris did as a cadet was with tremendous enthusiasm. Surely he carried that enthusiasm into everything else in his too short career. If we can approach our lives with much of the same enthusiasm - the world would be a better place. Thanks - Chris Dan Malone February 25 - 2004 Along with Russ Parsons - Chris was my roommate during Beast Barracks. We spent the two most difficult months of our lives together - from our first meeting after our initial reception at West Point - through to our separation - at the end of Beasst. Russ and I were assigned to H-1. Chris was a little shorter than we were - so he was assigned to I-1.What a disappointment to us all - that we were going to be separated. During Beast - we had many shared experiences - and laughs - and disappointments. I'll never forget the three of us - misreading our training schedule - and assembling in our Company Area - for a drill that was not to be. We were on time for First Call - but wondered why no one else was there. As we stood at attention in the area - in our assigned spots - in helmet liners and fatigues - eyes in motion trying to find familiar faces - and no one else showing up - the problem then became one of getting back to our rooms - without being caught - which obviously didn't happen. As time arrived for assembly - and the three of us were the only ones "assembled," a First Classman asked what we were doing in the area - all dressed up - with no where to go. That was the beginning of a very long discussion with him - and directions on how to better read our training schedule in the future. Obviously - having remembered this experience for fifty-three years - it left an indelible impression in my mind. Chris - from Westminster - MD. Always a friend - so sorry to lose you at such an early age - but alweays a friend - forever. Rest in Peace - Chris - and know you will always be remembered by those to whom you meant the most. Bill Harris April 29 - 2004 |
USMA 1955 Roster
USMA 1955 Pictures