Franklin D. Miller
U.S. Army
For conspicuous gallantry in action at the risk of his own life and above and beyond the call of duty, Staff Sergeant Franklin D. Miller distinguished himself while serving as a team leader of an American-Vietnamese long range reconnaissance patrol operating deep within enemy controlled territory. Leaving the helicopter insertion point, the patrol moved forward on its mission. Suddenly, one of the team members tripped a hostile booby trap, wounding four soldiers. Staff Sergeant Miller, knowing that the explosion would alert the enemy, quickly administered first aid to the wounded and directed the team into positions across a small stream bed at the base of a steep hill. Within a few minutes, Staff Sergeant Miller saw the lead elements of what he estimated to be a platoon-sized enemy force moving towards his location. Concerned for the safety of his men, he directed the small team to move up the hill to a more secure position. He remained alone, separated from the patrol, to meet the attack. Staff Sergeant Miller singlehandedly repulsed two determined attacks by the numerically superior enemy force and caused them to withdraw in disorder. He rejoined his team, established contact with a forward air controller and arranged the evacuation of his patrol. However, the only suitable extraction location in the heavy jungle was a bomb crater some 150 meters from the team location. Staff Sergeant Miller reconnoitered the route to the crater and led his men through the enemy controlled jungle to the extraction site. As the evacuation helicopter hovered over the crater to pick up the patrol, the enemy launched a savage attack against the beleaguered team, driving off the rescue helicopter. Staff Sergeant Miller led the team in a valiant defense which drove back the enemy in its attempt to overrun the small patrol. Although seriously wounded and with every man in his patrol a casualty, Staff Sergeant Miller gallantly repelled two attacks by the enemy before a friendly relief force reached the patrol location. Staff Sergeant Miller's gallantry, intrepidity in action, and selfless devotion to the welfare of his comrades are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
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