WHEREABOUTS
Pfc. Richard R. Miller, nephew of Mr. and Mrs. R. Ulrich, 520 Van Buren N. W., has won the right to wear wings and boots of the U. S. army paratroops, according to word received from the parachute school at Fort Benning, Ga.
Source: The Globe Gazette, Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, Friday, September 22, 1944, Page 4
DIED FROM WOUNDS RECEIVED IN ACTION
Pfc. Richard R. Miller, son of Roy Lee Miller, Mason City, died in Belgium on Jan. 9 as a result of wounds received in action 2 days before, according to a telegram received here.
Pfc. Miller had been overseas since last November and went into the service a year before that. He was a graduate of the Mason City high school and worked at Decker's prior to entering the service. His mother died when he was 12 years old and since that time had made his home with his aunt, Mrs. Helen Ulrich, 520 Van Buren N. W.
Source: The Globe Gazette, Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, Wednesday, February 07, 1945, Page 13 (photo included)
MEMORIAL SERVICES SUNDAY for PFC. RICHARD MILLER
To Be Held With Morning Worship at Alliance Tabernacle
Memorial services for Pfc. Richard R. Miller, who died in Belgium on Jan. 9 as a result of wounds received in action, will be held Sunday morning at the Christian and Missionary Alliance tabernacle, 616 Delaware N. E., in connection with the regular morning worship at 10:45. The Rev. Lowell Young, pastor of the church, is in charge.
Pfc. Miller was serving with the glider infantry at the time he was wounded. He had been overseas since last November and entered the service a year before that.
A graduate of the Mason City high school, he was employed at Decker's at the time of going into the service. He had made his home with his aunt, Mrs. Helen Ulrich, 520 Van Buren N. W., his mother having died when he was 12. He is the son of Roy Lee Miller, Mason City.
Source: The Globe Gazette, Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, Thursday, February 15, 1945, Page 15
RICHARD MILLER MEMORIAL HELD
Tribute Paid to Local Man at Tabernacle
A packed congregation attended morning service at the Alliance Gospel Tabernacle Sunday at which time tribute was paid to the memory of Pfc. Richard R. Miller, paratrooper who died in Belgium on Jan. 9 from wounds received in combat Jan. 7. The Rev. Lowell Young, pastor of the church, preached the sermon. The gold star, the first one in the service flag of the church, was placed over Richard's blue one.
Basing his talk on the 5th stanza of the 12th chapter of Jeremiah, Mr. Young drew a parallel between the "acid test" the prophet of that books was asked to confront, with those battles confronted by us today - the battle with sin, the battle with circumstance and the battle with the certainty of death.
"'Why should the one dearest to me be taken?' is the why in our hearts as was they why of Jeremiah when he complained to the Lord of the prosperity of the wicked, when a hero the prophet had worshiped had fallen," said the pastor.
". . . Sin has entered this world - everywhere we see the awful effects of evil. God sends us storms only to draw us closer to Him. There are many things we cannot understand but He uses mysterious things, His wonders to perform," spoke Mr. Young, point out that David the psalmist likewise had questioned the prosperity of those in sin, "but that he went into the house of the Lord and then he understood."
Mr. Young explained that the circumstances in life are from God and that we can't have bitter thoughts in battling them. They are to teach us self-reliance and reliance on God.
There are times when the prop gives out from under us that we might lean the harder on Him. He then shows us that we have strength - we can't explain how the soul has authority over the body except as interpreted in the light of God.
"The old must die, but the young may die," said the pastor, speaking of the battle with the certainty of death. Quoting Scripture that it is appointed unto every man once to die, now is the time to prepare for that appointment, he said. "Jesus never lost a battle . . . He won the day for us when on the Cross he overcame, saying, 'It is finished.' If we know Jesus . . . thanks be unto God who giveth us the Victory," concluded Mr. Young.
A male quartet composed of Marvin Carr, Roland Juhlin, Gene Wendt and Mr. Young, sang "When We All Get To Heaven," a favorite of Richard's as a boy in the Sunday school of the church. A solo, "God Understands," was sung by Joe Adelsman. Mrs. Walter Williams was at the piano.
Pfc. Miller was born in Mason City on Sept. 3, 1925. He attended the Mason City schools and was graduated from high school with the class of 1943. He entered the armed forces the following November and a year later went overseas as a paratrooper in the glider infantry. Two months later he received the wounds in combat resulting in his death.
His mother died when he was 12 years old and since that time he had made his home with his aunt, Mrs. Helen Ulrich, 520 Van Buren N. W. Besides her, he is survived by his father, Roy L. Miller, Rockford; a grandfather, James Miller of St. Ansgar; a grandmother, Mrs. Christine Wagner, Mason City, and other relatives.
Source: The Globe Gazette, Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, Monday, February 19, 1945, Page 14
Richard Roy Miller was born Sept. 3, 1925 to Roy and Sophie Wagner Miller. He died Jan. 9, 1945 and is buried in the Luxembourg American Cemetery, Hamm, Luxembourg. He has a cenotaph in Memorial Park Cemetery, Mason City, IA.
Pvt. Miller served with the U.S. Army 193rd Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division. He was awarded the Purple Heart.
Source: ancestry.com
