Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
Madison County native and former Greenville resident, Charlie Miller was recently named “Vietnam Veteran of the Year” for the state of Alabama. Miller is the Chapter President for Chapter 1067 of the Vietnam Veterans of America, in his current hometown of Huntsville, Ala. Miller, a retired U.S. Army command sergeant major has been serving as president for the 665-member chapter since 2016.
Miller graduated from the Greenville Training School in 1961 and joined the U.S. Army a month later. This began a 30-year career in the Army, during which time he served in Da Nang, in Vietnam. Arriving in Vietnam in June of 1970, Miller was a platoon sergeant with the First Aviation Brigade, working to re-fuel and re-arm helicopters. This was a 24/7 job with enemy mortar attacks on an almost nightly basis. Miller narrowly escaped injury when a mortar shell hit the bunker in which he was staying, in August of that year. The mortar shell hit the front of the bunker, injuring two soldiers who were in the front part of the bunker. Fortunately, for Miller, he was in the rear part of the bunker, and was unhurt. “I remember that clearly,” recalled Miller. “At that point, I realized it was real.”
Miller continued his Army career until 1991, when he retired at the rank of command sergeant major of the Ordinance Missile and Munitions Center and school. While in the Army, Miller continued his education with a bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of Maryland, in 1983; then another degree in religious education from Athens College, in 1993.
Miller has been married to his wife, Barbara Ann, for close to 61 years. They have two grown children and three grandchildren.