PFC Robert T. Miller (ASN 36564331) was born on August 18, 1923 in Avoca, St. Clair, Michigan. His father, Simon John Miller, was a native of Canada who immigrated to Michigan as a young man. His mother, Clara Nida Fenelon, was born and raised in St. Clair County, Michigan. His father was a farmer in St. Clair County. Robert was the fifth of his parent’s seven children. He had two older brothers, two older sisters, and two younger brothers.

Robert was raised on his father’s farm in St. Clair County. He left school in about 1936 to help his father with the running of the farm. In 1941, he started working for the Mueller Brass Company in Port Huron, Michigan. He received his draft card in June 1942, and he received his induction notice in January 1943. He enlisted in the Army on February 2, 1943.

He did his basic training at Camp San Luis Obispo in California. He started his Army Ranger training at Camp Rucker in Alabama. He was selected for Company F in the newly created 5th Ranger Battalion. In November 1943 he went through amphibious training at Fort Pierce, Florida. On January 18, 1944 he arrived in England to start a demanding pre-invasion training regimen.

The arduous British Commando training in Scotland was primarily what either made or lost a Ranger. It was also believed by many that the training in Scotland was what brought the Rangers through the invasion of France and all the difficult assignments that followed. For D-Day the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions were attached to the 29th Infantry Division. They were divided into three Ranger Task Forces. The 5th Rangers (Robert’s unit) was assigned to Task Force C, which was to land on the Dog Green sector of Omaha Beach, fight through the Vierville-sur-Mer draw exit off the beach and head eastward to the strategically placed six 155mm guns at Pointe du Hoc.

The military axiom, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy,” applied to the Rangers on June 6, 1944. Because the lead troops of the 29th Division were pinned down on the beach by heavy machine-gun fire, Ranger Task Force C had to land on the right flank of Omaha Beach at 07:10. The situation was so critical at that time, that General Omar Bradley was seriously considering abandoning the beachhead. Given the order, “Rangers, lead the way!”, the Rangers scrambled through the barbed wire, and the pillbox-rimmed heights under intense enemy machine-gun fire, and moved up the hill and eliminated a German strongpoint enabling others to exit the beach and move inland. The Rangers led the attack on the formidable German defenses around Vierville-sur-Mer, but the Rangers were ordered to fight against enemy counterattacks at Vierville until more troops could get off the beach. Company F in the 5th Ranger Battalion spent D-Day fighting the enemy at Vierville, and were not able to reach Pointe du Hoc until two days later. By the end of the day, the 65 Rangers in Company F suffered 3 KIA and 9 WIA. One of those killed in action at Vierville-sur-Mer was PFC Robert T. Miller.

Although according to military records he was not MIA, PFC Robert T. Miller’s name is on the Tablets of the Missing at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. The American Battle Monuments Commission site indicates that he was MIA and not buried in the cemetery. At the time of his death, he was survived by his parents and his six siblings. His older brothers, Wilfred Vincent and John Lewis, also served in WWII.

Sources:

1930 United States Federal Census
1940 United States Federal Census
U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947
U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S., Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949
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https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56647827/robert-t-miller
https://arsof-history.org/articles/v5n2_from_omaha_to_rhine_page_2.html
http://history.army.mil/books/wwii/70-42/70-423.htm
http://www.americandday.org/D-Day/5th_Rangers_Battalion-Order_of_battle.html
http://www.6juin1944.com/assaut/omaha/en_page.php?page=land116
https://www.abmc.gov/print/certificate/377604
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_Ranger_Battalion
https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=62651

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

Robert T Miller