Clarksburg man's WWII experience lives on as life fades

CLARKSBURG – As the number of World War II veterans declines each year, so does the institutional memory of the history of a country forged in combat.

Stanley LeRoy Miller is part of that history. He's now 90 years old, but he's one of a fading breed. The National WWII Museum estimates that only 855,070 World War II veterans are still alive — just over 34,800 in Ohio — and says they die at a rate of 492 per day.

As a result, it's important that we share Miller's story, as told to his family — his son, Robert, and daughter-in-law, Eva — and shared with the Gazette.

"A lot of the time the men that fought in World War II do not want to relive those painful memories. So I have tried to just talk to Stanley about the people and the places he went to instead of concentrating on what he might have experienced and instead of dwelling on the tragedies of war," said Eva Miller. "I had to let him see if he does not tell his story the memories will only get lost instead of being remembered. His buddies need to be remembered and telling his story will make them immortalized in time. They need to go down in our history books for contributions in keeping our country safe from Japan and Germany."

His family says he is the last surviving member of his battalion. They'd like the story of his military exploits told. So, we will ... all of the quotes below were provided by Robert and Eva, through their conversations with Stanley.

In 1943, Stanley Miller was 18 years old and the son of parents who farmed and owned an Oak Hill grocery store. He was drafted and, along with many other young men from the foothills of Ohio and Kentucky went off to boot camp in Chicago.

"While in boot camp, they were taught how to shoot lying down. Most of these boys have had a rifle in their hands since they were young. This was due to having to kill animals to put meat on the table. The instructor did not know they could shoot so well and gave Stanley and another guy a week off from basic training after he saw how well they could already handle a rifle."

After boot camp, Stanley started as a medical corpsman, then received training as an X-ray technician. He was assigned to the USS Delta AR-9, which set sail in early 1944, went through the Panama Canal headed for the military campaign in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He served as a medical corpsman on the ship.

"He was never referred to by name, only 'Doc.' Only the captain called him by name. Capt. Clarence "C.F." Swanson, the ship's commander, was very fond of him, helped him to advance through the ranks and showed him the way. The captain would take him on his personal boat when they would go on shore leave. The captain would always ask for Stanley personally when he needed treated for anything."

"One time, he remembered going on shore leave with his buddies and they missed the return boat back to the ship because the boat left early from the dock. He and his buddies were suspended from shore leave for awhile and then Stanley talked to the captain and told him what happened. The captain knew Stanley well enough to know he was telling the truth so he took the suspension off of the shore leave."

In August 1944, the USS Delta was selected to help Allied forces in the west Pacific. Stanley remembers the loud booms of his ship firing back at planes attacking the ship. He kept his head down and treated the men he was responsible for.

"The harder thing for him to live with was after the bombing. He went back through the ship to help treat the wounded and there was a corridor that had been locked off, and he could not or was not allowed to unlock it because other people would drown, so a certain amount of men had to die so that the whole ship did not sink ... The only time he talked of this, after all these years, was when he got into severe pain."

After the war ended and the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, Stanley — by then a second class pharmacist's mate — helped to set up a clinic in for Japanese and North Koreans at Tokyo Bay. He was a member of what was called "Task Force Thirty-One" and he was honored for his work to board and occupy the Japanese battleship Nagato.

The postscript on Stanley LeRoy Miller's military life goes like this. He returned to Ohio, attended Otterbein College, received a master's degree in education, then became an eighth-grade teacher at the Clarksburg school. Later, he became principal at Adena Elementary. He also served on the Deerfield Township Board of Trustees.

His service to the country and community are his legacy.