Terril News Items
Maurice Miller has returned to his duties at West Point after several weeks visit with home folks.
Source: The Milford Mail, Milford, Iowa, Thursday, September 02, 1937, Page 1
Terril News Items
Maurice Miller left Tuesday for Lincoln, Nebr., to take up army flying, after visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ben Miller.
Source: The Milford Mail, Milford, Iowa, Thursday, September 21, 1939, Page 6
Terril News Items
Lieut. Maurice Miller spent the holidays with the parental Ben Miller family and left for Randolph Field, Texas, where he will enter army aviation.
Source: The Milford Mail, Milford, Iowa, Thursday, January 04, 1940, Page 4
Terril News Items
2nd Lieutenant Maurice Miller, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Miller, is one of the 100 men graduating from the Army Flying school at Kelley Field, Texas, on Thursday, June 21.
Source: The Milford Mail, Milford, Iowa, Thursday, June 27, 1940, Page 2
LIEUT. MAURICE M. MILLER, TERRIL,
FIRST COUNTY CASUALTY IN WAR
KILLED IN AIRPLANE ACCIDENT OFF
COAST OF PORTO RICO
ON THURSDAY DECEMBER 11.
MEMORIAL SERVICES AT TERRIL
METHODIST CHURCH SUNDAY MORNING.
The entire population of Dickinson county was shocked and grieved last Saturday afternoon when an official telegram from the U. S. War department was received by Mr. and Mrs. B. W. Miller of Terril, notifying them of the tragic death of their eldest son, Lieut. Maurice M. Miller.
The telegram stated that Maurice had been accidentally killed at sea on Thursday, December 11. A letter just previously received from Maurice, who was in the air service, stated he had flown a bomber to Miami, Fla. On Tuesday he started his return flight and when motor trouble developed he was forced to return to the pan American airport at Miami. Repairs were to be made to the ship possibly by Wednesday and he planned to then return to Porto Rico.
Sunday afternoon the Dickinson County Red Cross wired an inquiry to national headquarters seeking information regarding the accident and a wire early Monday morning stated the desired information would be forthcoming.
On Tuesday morning a second telegram was received by Mr. Miller from the war department, which stated that the bomber Maurice was flying had exploded in mid-air and was lost at sea.
Memorial services will be held at the Methodist church in Terril next Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. Rev. Harvey Nelson will officiate.
Maurice M. Miller, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Ben W. Miller, of Terril, Iowa, was born January 3, 1915, at Lodgepole, S. D. He came to Terril with his parents in 1915. His school work at home was completed in 1932 when he graduated from the Terril High school. The next three years he spent attending Coe college at Cedar Rapids. In the fall of 1935, Maurice received an appointment to West Point U. S. Military Academy, where he played as a member of the Army football team, and was graduated with the class of 1939.
Following the completion of Maurice’s military education he entered the air force of the U. S. Army as a First Lieutenant. His basic training was received at Kelly and Randolph Fields in Texas. During the summer of 1940 he last visited home, and was then stationed with the 10th Bombardment Squadron at Borinquen Field in Porto (sic) Rico, where he remained until his fatal accident.
He leaves besides his parents, four brothers, Walter, who is stationed with the U. S. Army at the Portland Air Base, Portland, Ore.; Donald, Franklin and Kenneth at home.; four sisters, Charlotte, at Milford, Rose, at Sioux City, and Ruth and Marjorie at home
Maurice is well remembered by many people throughout the county because of his participation in athletics while attending the Terril school. His life is one that his parents, brothers and sisters, as well as the entire county and country can well be proud of. Every years of his life as his record clearly shows, was spent in gaining knowledge, going ahead, and becoming a better citizen, and training to be a protector of his country, for which he gave his life. To acquire all this was no easy task, but Maurice was capable and filled with desire. Yet, with all his work, ambitions, and attainments, his home was never forgotten. News from him was regularly received, and every member of the family os which he was a part, was always in his mind.
The entire community extends sympathy to the bereaved family. [remainder of article illegible]
Source: The Milford Mail, Milford, Iowa, Thursday, December 18, 1941, Page 1
Mrs. Ben Miller, Terril,
To Be County Gold Star Mother Guest of WHO
TERRIL – The mother of Lieut. Maurice M. Miller, 26, Dickinson county’s first-announced war casualty, will be a guest at the Hollywood Caravan benefit as the Shrine auditorium in Des Moines Sunday afternoon. She is Mrs. B. M. Miller of Terril and will sit with gold star mothers from the other 98 counties of Iowa, through courtesy of WHO radio station. The tickets are being purchased from funds remaining from the last golden gloves tournament.
The Millers were notified of their son’s death on Dec. 13, two days after his airplane plunged into the sea near Puerto Rico, while on a routine flight from the Florida coast to his base.
Emmet county’s representative at the Des Moines show will be Mrs. Ira Swartz, formerly of Dickinson county. Her son, Donald, was lost in a storm at sea when a huge wave swept him off the ship he was on. His death was the first in Emmet county, and so far is the only one known in that county.
Dickinson county has one other casualty, that being Everett Lyle Titterington, who was missing in action after the raid at Pearl Harbor. His mother, Mrs. Pearl Titterington, is not in the county at the present time.
Source: The Spirit Lake Beacon, Spirit Lake, Iowa, Thursday, May 07, 1942, Page 1
Weekly News From Milford Locality
The past week one of the most outstanding window displays in the H. E. Jacobs corner window has been of the most high interest to everyone in the community. There has been placed there 60 pictures of men in the service of Uncle Sam. Almost every home in Milford with men in services is represented. Two gold stars are put on the pictures of Lieut. Maurice Miller and Everett Titterington. There are three members of two families in the display, they are: Kenneth, Warren and Narvan Miller and Everett, Robert and Lyle Titterington. Two brothers from the same families are: Ensign J. E. and William Shelledy, Lieut. Maurcie and Walter Miller, Dale and Dick Aldred.
Source: The Spirit Lake Beacon, Spirit Lake, Iowa, Thursday, March 05, 1942, Page 7
1st Lt. Miller is memorialized at the East Coast Memorial, Manhattan, NY and has a cenotaph in Fairview Cemetery, Terril, IA.
Source: ancestry.com
