Our website was created to help the family members of those who died and participated in Exercise Tiger. Dean Small, son of the late Ken Small, continues with his father's legacy. We are endorsed by the survivors and the families.
John H. Miller - LST 507
John H. Miller - U. S. Navy
Seaman 2nd Class
Buried at Cambridge American Cemetery, England
Brief History of John H. Miller by Walter Miller, Nephew
Tribute to John H. Miller
John H. Miller who always went by Jack, was born in Brooklyn N.Y. in 1925, into a family of five children, three older, one younger. His mother passed away when Jack was three. His father remarried one year later to a widow who had five children and together they had three more. I am the son of Jack's older brother by two years, Walt Miller, and to this family's credit, I have only heard these siblings refer to each other as brothers and sisters - never using "step" or "half". Just one big family. Of this family, five of the brothers, including Jack, served during World War II. Art, in the Army Air Corp, and the other four in the Navy, including Jack. My father served in the Pacific on land based medium bombers. My uncle Frank served in the Pacific then the Atlantic on a destroyer and was involved in the D-Day campaign. Uncle Buster was serving in the Pacific on a PT boat in the same squadron as John F. Kennedy.
Jack was the youngest of this group of brothers and enlisted at the age of 17. He enlisted in New Jersey, but he was raised in the small town of Miami, Florida. As with most of the WWII veterans, my father and uncles spoke little of those years. The one thing that I always heard about my Uncle Jack were the fond memories of a very kind and somewhat innocent young man. My father and uncles, being on active duty, had just heard of Jack's enlistment when they were notified of his death. The vagueness of the circumstances and the talk of "friendly fire" causing his death lingered for decades until Exercise Tiger was exposed. The news of this mishap upset the family, especially Jack's oldest sister Edna, who was the matriarch of the family.
My wife and I had the pleasure of attending the Exercise Tiger Memorial Service at the Sherman Tank Memorial in April, 2016. That experience was beyond words. The heartfelt tribute held at Slapton Sands for what these young men did was truly moving, along with visiting Uncle Jack's beautiful grave site at the Cambridge American Cemetery, as well as experiencing the beaches of Normandy. This was something my wife and I will cherish for the rest of our lives.
Our thanks go to the vision of Ken Small and the continued dedication of Dean and Sarah Small, with the help of Laurie Bolton. We have full intentions (and my father has expressed the desire as well) of attending the 75th anniversary in 2019 and revisiting our new friends.