Page 64 - Lubbock Senior Link Magazine Fall 2019- Online Magazine

Eldridge and Kenneth Miller
World War II
n December of 1944,
“The Battle of the Bulge”
Ioccurred, and a 34-year-
old father was drafted into
the Army. He left a wife
and an 11-year old-son who
watched the train leave the
San Antonio terminal for New
York City. The father had gone
through extensive Medical
Corps training, but the
Army needed infantrymen,
especially soldiers who had
scored “expert” in Rifleman
Marksmanship. So, the father
left his family and friends and
a very successful Magnolia
Service Station to serve his
country.
He had frequently taken
his son to a hollow near the
two-room farmhouse, just
south of San Antonio. The
dad would find just the right
64 Lubbock Senior Link
A Father and A Son
by Ken L. Miller, EdD
place for them to
sit and wait for
the sound of a
squirrel. When
he spotted it,
he would raise
his single-shot
Remington rifle
and shoot. The
boy would wait
for the shot and
then run to pick
up the squirrel.
Once, he asked,
“Dad, why do
you always
shoot them in
the head?” His
dad replied, “I don’t want to
waste any of the meat.” The
son never dreamed that his
dad’s skill with a rifle would
someday take his dad away
from him.
The father, Eldridge Miller,
was assigned to the 222nd
Infantry Regiment of the 42nd
Infantry Division (Rainbow).
The division was packed
into the RMS Queen Mary,
stripped of all its British
“finery” and hurriedly sent
to Marseille, France. They
arrived in December 1944 and
began their rapid journey to
the front lines of battle in the
European theatre. The son
proudly followed his dad’s
famous Rainbow Division via
newspaper and radio reports,
especially when the division
helped break through the
Siegfried Line. After school, he
ran home to hear the reports
of Ernie Pyle and Edward R.
Murrow, with the famous
“Good Night and Good Luck”
closing.
The Division continued
through Wurzburg on their
way to Munich. On the way,
they helped liberate the
Dachau Concentration Camp.
(Dad never said much about
this terrible experience. I knew
better than to bring up the
subject, but I did read about it
and saw gruesome pictures of
the “Horror of Horrors.”)
From the Son’s Perspective
World War II ended in
September 1945, and Mother
and I eagerly awaited his
return. However, Dad
continued to serve in the
Occupation Army. Finally, he
returned on a slow, “gully-
jumping” ship to New York
City. We were overjoyed when
he returned to us safe and
sound. Dad immediately took
us to the center hall of the
house for a wonderful prayer
of thanksgiving! Before he had
left to go to war, he had taken
us to that same hall to pray for
his safety and for our welfare
while he was gone.
After Dad enjoyed several
days at home, he wanted us to
enjoy a long vacation. We had
a great time seeing the Grand
Canyon, Yellowstone Park,