WWII Veteran To Lead Aurora Memorial Day Parade As Grand Marshal

AURORA, IL — A World War II veteran and Aurora native was chosen to serve as the grand marshal for this year's Memorial Day parade.

Aurora City Council presented Miller with a sash and proclamation on Tuesday evening. For those who couldn't attend, the meeting was also livestreamed on YouTube.

Born in 1926, Miller attended East Aurora High School and enlisted in the United States Navy in 1944. He was stationed in Pearl Harbor before he was deployed on the destroyer ship U.S.S. Drexler, which was headed for the staging area of the Battle Of Okinawa, the bloodiest battle of the war in the Pacific.

About 160 people were killed, and Miller was among the 52 wounded. According to his bio, provided by the City of Aurora, he kept himself afloat by holding on to an empty canister. He spent a couple of hours in the water, with black oil plashing into his eyes, nose and mouth.

He was rescued from the ocean by a pilot searching for survivors and was taken to a hospital in Pearl Harbor to recover. He was discharged in April 1946 and returned to Illinois, where he joined the Navy Reserve for another five years.

"I was a spotter for Japanese kamikaze planes," Miller said, per a news release. "We were hit twice, and the second one blew our ship to pieces and propelled us into the ocean."

The almost-98-year-old veteran married his high school sweetheart and went on to spend about three decades working at the United States Postal Service. He and his late wife, Dorothy, had two children and now have two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

"Miller is still active in veterans' causes in the community and frequently speaks in local schools and civic groups about his experiences," his bio reads.