Page 13 - DFCS NEWS MAGAZINE 2020-1

The German pilot Hildebrandt, credited with downing Miller, and the German intelligence officer who had earlier rushed to the crash scene, witnessed Captain Miller's dying words from his bedside in the German Military Hospital in Laon. Miller held Major Johnson partially responsible for his circumstance.
On March 11th, a German plane flew over Miller's airfield and dropped his personal effects on the runway. In 1919, Miller Field, Staten Island, New York, was named in his honor and is today part of the National Gateway Recreation Center. Capt. James Ely Miller was initially buried in the German Military Cemetery in Laon but was re-interned in 1921 in the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery, Fere-en-Terdenois (Aisne), France.
As we near the approach of the centennial anniversary of the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F) deployment to France and the engagement in active combat operations during WW I, these two historical aspects of Capt. Miller’s valor and heroism take on a much larger role.
Capt. Miller’s family was hosted to a two-hour tour of the Pentagon, which included personal time in the office of the acting Secretary of the Army, the Honorable Robert Speer. Col. Roberts presented the Distinguished Flying Cross Society plaque at the WW I memorial within the Pentagon itself.
Following a reception held at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall at the residence of the Army Chief of Staff, the Distinguished Flying Cross and Purple Heart awards were jointly presented by Secretary Speer and General Mark A. Milley, United States Army, Chief of Staff.
The Secretary of the Air Force, the Honorable Heather Wilson, was also in attendance, joined by an audience of more than 1,800.
DISTINGUISHED FLYNG CROSS
PURPLE HEART
The Distinguished Flying Cross was established by Act of Congress in 1926 to honor the valor and heroism of WW I aviators. The first medal was presented to Charles Lindbergh on June 11, 1927 by then President Calvin Coolidge.
The Distinguished Flying Cross Society, supported by research from the National World War I museum in Kansas City, MO, can find no occasion of a WW I pilot ever receiving the award. Therefore, the posthumous presentation of this award to Capt. James Ely Miller, on June 14th, 2017, is the first occasion of the Distinguished Flying Cross ever being presented to a WW I recipient, for which the award was originally intended.
The Purple Heart, originally conceived as a Badge of Military Merit and established by George Washington on August 7, 1782, was modified to replace Wound Chevrons subsequent to April 5th, 1917 by G.O. No. 3 on February 22nd, 1932. Today the Purple Heart is awarded to any member of the Armed Services, after April 5th, 1917, who has been wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the United States.
Capt. James Ely Miller, by his sacrifice, became the first U.S. airman eligible for the Purple Heart to die in air to air combat against an enemy while serving in the armed forces of the United States.
The Distinguished Flying Cross Society was pleased to honor the heroism and valor of Capt. James Ely Miller by our inclusion in this august ceremony, and to extend our gratitude to his family for their pursuit of honors rightfully earned.
SUMMER 2020 / DFCS News Magazine / 13