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<p><em>James Richard “Jim” Miller</em> was born at Mount Clemens, MI to Army Air Corps Sergeant William Miller (later a lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Air Force) and Martha Hubble Miller, linking him from birth to American military life. Jim, going by his middle name, Dick, in his boyhood, paired with his big brother Bill (USMA ex-’53) for adventure and play, including the times of the family’s stationing in the Philippines, Alabama, Texas, and California; both brothers looked after their little sister, Joanne. With the end of World War II and their graduation from high school, as each came of age in turn, brothers Bill and Jim joined the new U.S. Air Force and applied to USMAPS, Stewart AFB, Newburgh, NY and, in turn, gained admission to West Point. Jim entered with the Class of 1954 in July 1950.</p>
<p>Upon arrival to USMA, Jim shouldered the challenges of new cadet, plebe and cadet life as all cadets do. He suffered a severe head injury in a combatives session, was hospitalized and eventually turned back to the Class of 1955. His brother Bill later recalled, “There were two Jims at West Point – somewhat indifferent as a plebe and all-cadet when he returned from convalescence as a yearling.” With this refreshed motivation, Jim resumed his class’s academic, athletic, and social adventures and continued toward graduation and a commissioning in the Infantry.</p>
<p>Sometime in his firstie year, Jim met Diane Franklin, a vivacious beauty from a family that included her father, General Patton’s surgeon in World War II, and brother, Colonel Ross Franklin (USMA 1950). Adhering to a happy tradition, they married at the Cadet chapel after graduation. As is also traditional, transitions moved fast, and the couple traveled for leave to Missouri and Jim’s family, the Infantry Officer Basic Course and Airborne and Ranger schools at Fort Benning, GA, and his first assignment as a platoon leader in 8th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, CO.</p>
<p>Jim served in numerous Army Infantry and Ordnance branch positions, including in Korea, seven years at the Pentagon on Joint and Army staffs, and a maintenance battalion command tour in Vietnam. Jim and Diane were blessed with two lovely daughters, Elizabeth and Melanie. Jim’s last promotion, to colonel, was “double below the zone” (two years early). He retired in 1975 and immediately began contractor work with SAIC in Northern Virginia.</p>
<p>Within a few years he moved to San Diego, and he and Diane ended their marriage. At SAIC he eventually rose to be a vice president. He met and married Nancy Anderson, a contractor at Orincon, and they moved to La Jolla, CA and later Carlsbad, CA, all in the San Diego area. Daughter Elizabeth, a graduate of Radford University, married Terry Dankel and settled down in a townhouse in Burke, VA with their favorite cats. Melanie bartended very successfully for some years and married Ken Bragg, who, as a sailor, had served in the fleet in Southwest Asia in the early 1990s. They settled in Union City, CA, welcomed sons Jack and Joey, and both entered the education profession. </p>
<p>Jim, occasionally battling severe illnesses in the 1990s and 2000s, maintained personal positivity every time. After his sister and brother-in-law, Joanne and Jose Alegre, arrived in California, the four of them got together frequently for lunches and dinners out. Jim and Nancy went on a number of nice trips and cruises, including visits to see the grandchildren at daughter Melanie’s house in northern California. After his sister moved back to Arizona and his brother Bill moved to Temecula from Maine, Jim and Bill, the two brothers, would delight in Bill’s visits to Jim’s Carlsbad home. </p>
<p>Jim’s awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster and “V” device, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and medals for World War II Army of Occupation (Aircraft Device), two for National Defense Service, Vietnam Service, Korean Defense Service, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Leaf, Republic of Vietnam War Service, the Expert Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, Ranger Tab, Army Staff Badge, and Joint Staff Badge.</p>
<p>Jim is survived by his daughters, Elizabeth and Melanie (and her husband, Ken Bragg), and by his grandsons, Jack and Joey. The Miller family military tradition was also upheld by nephew Mark Miller, a Cold War-era Marine; son-in-law Ken, who served in the Navy in SW Asia during the Persian Gulf War-era; and nephews Dante Alegre (USMA ex-’89) and Lieutenant Colonel David Alegre ’81 (Retired) and his descendants, who include two U.S. Navy sailors and a USAF officer.</p>
<p>We family members were always entertained by Jim and admired his professionalism in services and careers, balanced by his joy of important things in life and casualness about the less important things. We’d sometimes marvel at how easily he spent money on himself and us! It is possible, but not easy, to match Jim’s achievements. But even if we can, it is impossible to claim his attributes of kindness, humility, and talent for seeing the world and exuding his signature sense of calm about it. </p>
<p><em>— David M. Alegre, USMA 1981</em></p>
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