Lieutenant General Edward J. Miller (28 August 19225 June 1993) was a United States Marines Corps officer who served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Early life

He attended

St. Thomas Military Academy Saint Thomas Academy (abbr. STA), originally known as St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary and formerly known as St. Thomas Military Academy, is the only all-male, Catholic, college-preparatory, military high school in Minnesota. It is located in Mendota ...

in St Paul, Minnesota.

Military career

As a First lieutenant commanding a platoon of Company B,

1st Battalion, 26th Marines The 1st Battalion, 26th Marines (1/26) is an inactive infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They were part of the 26th Marine Regiment (United States), 26th Marine Regiment and 5th Marine Division (United States), 5th Marine Divisi ...

5th Marine Division The 5th Marine Division was a United States Marine Corps ground combat division which was activated on 11 November 1943 (officially activated on 21 January 1944) at Camp Pendleton, California during World War II. The 5th Division saw its first ...

he was awarded the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

for his actions on 22 February 1945 during the

Battle of Iwo Jima The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJ ...

. From 23 September 1967 to 24 February 1968 he served as the intelligence officer (G-2) at the

3rd Marine Division The 3rd Marine Division is a division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry divisions in the Marine Corps and together with th ...

headquarters in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

. From 25 February to 14 September 1968 he commanded the

4th Marine Regiment The 4th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. Based at Camp Schwab in Okinawa, Japan, it is part of the 3rd Marine Division of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. Mission Close with and destroy the enemy by fi ...

, during this time his regiment was primarily engaged in

Operation Kentucky Operation Kentucky was a multi-battalion operation conducted by the United States Marine Corps in the area south of the DMZ in Quảng Trị Province. This was another operation to secure the Con Thien area from the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN ...

and Operation Lancaster II. In early 1972 he was the assistant commander of the 3rd Marine Division. From 3 April 1972 he commanded the

9th Marine Amphibious Brigade 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

(9th MAB) when it deployed offshore of South Vietnam to assist in the defence of

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

during the Easter Offensive. In late June the 9th MAB conducted a feint a feint amphibious assault against the mouth of the Cua Viet River as a diversion for the South Vietnamese Operation Lam Son 72. He relinquished command of the 9th MAB on 15 November 1972. On 1 July 1975 he assumed command of the

4th Marine Division The 4th Marine Division is a reserve division in the United States Marine Corps. It was raised in 1943 for service during World War II, and subsequently fought in the Pacific against the Japanese. Deactivated after the war, the division was re-fo ...

and remained in command until 16 June 1978. In April 1977 he oversaw the relocation of the division from Camp Pendleton to New Orleans, Louisiana. On 28 June 1978 he assumed his final command as Commanding General,

Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic (FMFLANT) is an American maritime landing force that is spread across the Atlantic Ocean. It is headquartered at Naval Station Norfolk and directs and commands all the subordinate elements of the Navy Expeditiona ...

. He retired from the Marines on 1 October 1980.

Later life

He died on 5 June 1993 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Decorations

His decorations included the

Navy Distinguished Service Medal The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritoriou ...

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

and

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller (USMC), Edward J. United States Marine Corps generals United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War 1922 births 1993 deaths