Gary L. Miller

Wounded, he covered a live grenade to save the men with him.

Gary Lee Miller was born in Covington, Virginia, on 19 March 1947. Before joining the Army he attended the Clifton Forge-Covington branch of Virginia Tech, the institution that later became an independent community college. His interests included science and architecture, and he wrestled while attending Covington High School.

Miller entered the Army in 1967 and became an infantry officer. By February 1969 he was a first lieutenant leading a platoon in Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, in South Vietnam. His battalion operated in the area north of Saigon, where American units sought to intercept enemy forces moving from sanctuaries along the Cambodian border.

On 16 February 1969 in Binh Duong Province, his company ambushed an infiltrating force. After the initial contact ended, Miller took a patrol into the darkness and dense vegetation to examine the ground and search for enemy casualties. The patrol was suddenly attacked, and he was seriously wounded.

During the fighting, an enemy grenade landed among the Americans. Miller located it in the poor light and threw himself over it. His body absorbed the explosion, protecting nearby patrol members from death or severe wounds. He was killed at twenty-one.

President Richard Nixon presented Miller’s posthumous Medal of Honor to his family in August 1970. He was buried at Allegheny Memorial Park near Covington. In 2020 Virginia Tech added his name to its War Memorial Court after his connection to the former branch college was established. The recognition returned attention to his education and home community as well as the final act for which he was decorated.

Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Lt. Miller, Infantry, Company A, was serving as a platoon leader at night when his company ambushed a hostile force infiltrating from Cambodian sanctuaries. After contact with the enemy was broken, 1st Lt. Miller led a reconnaissance patrol from their prepared positions through the early evening darkness and dense tropical growth to search the area for enemy casualties. As the group advanced they were suddenly attacked. 1st Lt. Miller was seriously wounded. However, the group fought back with telling effect on the hostile force. An enemy grenade was thrown into the midst of the friendly patrol group and all took cover except 1st Lt. Miller, who in the dim light located the grenade and threw himself on it, absorbing the force of the explosion with his body. His action saved nearby members of his patrol from almost certain serious injury. The extraordinary courage and selflessness displayed by this officer were an inspiration to his comrades and are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.