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Mr. Miller, just like his father and three brothers before him, served in the United States Navy. While stationed aboard the USS Howard W. Gilmore (AS-16), in Charleston, South Carolina, Mr. Miller requested and was selected for Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) Training. Mr. Miller was one of the thirty-three men out of two hundred and sixty who completed UDT R1 Class 33 in Little Creek, Virginia. Mr. Miller had served two years with Underwater Demolition Team 22 when he was selected and assigned to SEAL Team  2 in Little Creek, Virginia. 

Mr. Miller was awarded a Purple Heart in 1967 due to injuries endured while serving in the Republic of South Vietnam. He spent nine months at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital in a full-body cast, recovering from a gunshot wound to his left femur. When he was able to walk, he returned to SEAL Team 2 and continued working on his physical abilities. Ultimately, he brought himself back into the required physical condition for a SEAL Team Operator. Mr. Miller continued with SEAL Team 2 for two additional years before separating from the Navy. During his service, Mr. Miller received numerous medals, including two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star with a “Combat V”, and a Navy Commendation Medal with a “Combat V”.  Mr. Miller was active duty with SEAL Team 2 from 1966 to 1970, his US Navy SEAL career cut short due to combat wounds sustained in Vietnam.

Mr. Miller went on to attend the University of Iowa on the G.I. Bill. He taught marksmanship and military History to the R.O.T.C. cadets his freshman and sophomore years and participated in R.O.T.C. his junior and senior years. Upon graduation from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Business, Mr. Miller attended the Army Officer's Commissioning Camp at Fort Riley, Kansas and was commissioned as an Ordnance Officer. Mr. Miller went on to complete his Master of Science in U.S. Government Business Operations and Procurement from Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida. 

Mr. Miller served active duty in the United States Army before he received a medical retirement as a result of his combat injuries sustained in Vietnam. Mr. Miller went on to work in US Government contracting in the US Army Material Readiness Command at Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, Illinois. Mr. Miller wrote contracts to purchase small arms for the United States Navy, Army, and Marine Corps, with all US government contractors manufacturing small arms. By this time, Mr. Miller had cultivated a side business, turned life’s work, that he would go on to enjoy to this day.

Mr. Miller’s interest in firearms began at the age of nine and overlapped with his interest in history. By the time Mr. Miller joined The United States Navy, he had acquired a sizable collection of firearms, several of which he still owns today. Mr. Miller will tell you that each firearm has a unique history, beginning with its manufacture and use, to how he came to acquire the item. Mr. Miller’s life work has included consulting for firearm manufacturers, firearm retail, owning and operating indoor shooting ranges, teaching and training, and manufacturing firearms and component parts.

Throughout his civilian life, Mr. Miller has continued to be active in the military community. He has long-standing memberships with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), AMVETS (American Veterans), American Legion, the Purple Heart Foundation, and the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Mr. Miller has held offices in many of these organizations and has also volunteered in numerous ways. Currently, Mr. Miller serves as a certified DAV Service Officer with DAV Quad Cities Chapter 2, in Davenport, Iowa, providing counseling to disabled veterans to help them obtain their disability pension. 

Mr. Miller has been a member of the UDT-SEAL Association, Little Creek, Virginia, since its inception and is a Life Member. For more than 30 years, he has been an advocate for membership and fundraising, twice donating engraved custom rifles made by his company, Mid-America Recreation Inc., to raffle and raise funds for the SEAL Heritage Center (SHC) building program. Additionally, through his consulting business, he has obtained firearms for raffle at the UDT-SEAL Museum Association Muster, Fort Pierce, Florida, five years in a row. 

Today, Mr. Miller is a 80-year-old, 100% disabled, combat-wounded Vietnam Veteran. Since he was twenty-three years old, Mr. Miller has undergone six major surgeries related to the injuries sustained while deployed to Vietnam, leaving him with pain and aggravation for 50 years. Despite his physical impairments, Mr. Miller has spent a large part of his life helping veterans' organizations, and veterans, through his association with veteran groups and volunteering.

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