James Leroy Miller

James Leroy Miller was a 1967 graduate of Fairfield High School. As a young man he worked at a local gas station and enjoyed his 1964 Blue Chevy Malibu. He was drafted into the Army in March 1968. He trained at Fort Bliss, TX and Camp Polk, LA before starting his tour in Southeast Asia. CPL Miller drove light tactical track vehicles, operated field radios, and served as an infantryman while assigned to the 25th Infantry Division. CPL Miller sustained shrapnel wounds in September 1968, recovered, and returned to his company in the field. He was killed on January 21, 1969 when the tracked armored personnel carrier he was driving hit a mine on Highway 7, east of Trang Bang, in the Hau Nghia Province, South Vietnam. He was awarded two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart. CPL Miller was the second Fairfield native killed in Vietnam. The 20-year-old’s body was buried at the evergreen Cemetery in Fairfield.