Congressional Medal of Honor Society

Stories of Sacrifice

or
  • Filter Recipient Database here
    • Service Branch
    • Conflict / Era
    • Additional Filters
      -  
    or

Vietnam War - U.S. Army

Franklin Douglas Miller

Details
  • Rank: Staff Sergeant (Highest Rank: Command Sergeant Major)
  • Conflict/Era: Vietnam War
  • Unit/Command:
    5th Special Forces Group,
    1st Special Forces
  • Military Service Branch: U.S. Army
  • Medal of Honor Action Date: January 5, 1970
  • Medal of Honor Action Place: Kontum Province, Republic of Vietnam
Citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. S/Sgt. Miller, 5th Special Forces Group, distinguished himself while serving as team leader of an American-Vietnamese long-range reconnaissance patrol operating deep within enemy-controlled territory. Leaving the helicopter insertion point, the patrol moved forward on its mission. Suddenly, one of the team members tripped a hostile booby trap which wounded four soldiers. S/Sgt. Miller, knowing that the explosion would alert the enemy, quickly administered first aid to the wounded and directed the team into positions across a small stream bed at the base of a steep hill. Within a few minutes, S/Sgt. Miller saw the lead element of what he estimated to be a platoon-size enemy force moving toward his location. Concerned for the safety of his men, he directed the small team to move up the hill to a more secure position. He remained alone, separated from the patrol, to meet the attack. S/Sgt. Miller singlehandedly repulsed two determined attacks by the numerically superior enemy force and caused them to withdraw in disorder. He rejoined his team, established contact with a forward air controller, and arranged the evacuation of his patrol. However, the only suitable extraction location in the heavy jungle was a bomb crater some 150 meters from the team location. S/Sgt. Miller reconnoitered the route to the crater and led his men through the enemy-controlled jungle to the extraction site. As the evacuation helicopter hovered over the crater to pick up the patrol, the enemy launched a savage automatic-weapons and rocket-propelled-grenade attack against the beleaguered team, driving off the rescue helicopter. S/Sgt. Miller led the team in a valiant defense which drove back the enemy in its attempt to overrun the small patrol. Although seriously wounded and with every man in his patrol a casualty, S/Sgt. Miller moved forward to again singlehandedly meet the hostile attackers. From his forward exposed position, S/Sgt. Miller gallantly repelled two attacks by the enemy before a friendly relief force reached the patrol location. S/Sgt. Miller's gallantry, intrepidity in action, and selfless devotion to the welfare of his comrades are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Medal of Honor Recipient Franklin D. Miller
Medal of Honor Recipient Franklin D. Miller
Additional Details
  • Accredited to: Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, New Mexico
  • Awarded Posthumously: No
  • Presentation Date & Details: June 15, 1971

    The White House, presented by Pres. Richard M. Nixon

  • Born: January 27, 1945, Elizabeth City, Pasquotank County, NC, United States
  • Died: June 30, 2000, Tampa Bay, FL, United States
  • Buried: Body cremated ashes spread in New Mexico
  • Location of Medal: Veterans Memorial Museum, Chehalis, VA
 

Questions? For More Information Contact Us!