Bert Homer Miller was born on April 4, 1921 in Manti, Utah to Charles R and Rose M Stringham Miller. His father died in 1932. Bert was the youngest of three children, two boys and one girl. He graduated from Provo High School and Brigham Young University in 1943, both schools in Provo, Utah.

Bert’s draft registration card was signed February 16, 1942. He is shown to be 5’10” tall, 158 pounds with brown eyes, black hair and a dark complexion, with a mole on his left cheek.

Bert enlisted in the Army Air Force on June 11, 1942 in Salt Lake City, Utah. His service number was 777531.

Bert was trained in Santa Ana, California, Ryan Field, Tucson, Arizona and later went to Pecos Army Airfield where he graduated as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was sent overseas I October 1944 as a transport pilot in the 360th Air Force Service Group.

2nd Lieutenant Miller was killed on a routine flight near Papua, New Guinea on December 11, 1944. His body was returned home aboard the USAT Lt. Geo WG Boyce in May 1948 and he was buried next to his father in the American Fork City Cemetery in American Fork, Utah on July 13, 1948.

Sources:

Utah, US, Veterans with Federal Service buried in Utah, 1847-1966

US, Obituary Collection, 1930-current

US, Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1970

Utah County, Utah, US, Cemetery Index, 1847-1997

US, Find A Grave Index

US, World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947

Utah, US, Military Records, 1861-1970

US, Cemetery Index from Selected States, 1847-2010

Newspapers.com (Daily Herald, Provo, Utah) 11 July 1948

“Bert Homer Miller”, honorstates.org

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

2nd Lt. Bert Homer Miller