Medal of Honor Monday: Franklin D. Miller in the Shadow War Along the Laos Border

Early Life and Background

Franklin Delano Miller was born January 27, 1945, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and raised in a working-class family that valued duty, discipline, and keeping your word. His father worked hard, his mother kept the household steady, and like many boys of his generation, Miller grew up with the expectation that when the country called, you answered. There was nothing flashy about his early life. He hunted, fished, worked, and learned to keep moving when things got difficult. Those habits, built quietly in rural America, would later define how he fought.

Joining the Army and Early Service

Miller enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1965 as the Vietnam War escalated. He did not join for glory. Like many young men at the time, he saw service as both an obligation and an opportunity. He trained as an infantryman and quickly distinguished himself through competence rather than volume. He was not the loudest man in the room, but he was steady, reliable, and physically tough. Those traits earned him a place in Special Forces and, ultimately, an assignment to the shadow war being fought across Southeast Asia.

Into the Shadow War

By the late 1960s, Miller was serving with a reconnaissance element tied to MACV-SOG, the highly classified joint special operations group conducting deep reconnaissance and interdiction missions in denied territory. These patrols were small, lightly equipped, and often inserted far beyond friendly lines to gather intelligence and disrupt enemy movement. When they were compromised, they fought for survival against overwhelming numbers. It was unforgiving work that demanded endurance, initiative, and a refusal to quit when the plan fell apart.

MACV SOG and Medal of Honor recipient Franklin D Miller, leader of RT Vermont with a Gyrojet Rocket Pistol during SOG Experimental equipment trials pic.twitter.com/XfEeVTigVi

Advertisement

— Indochina Wars (@Indochina_War) September 13, 2022

Medal of Honor Actions

On January 5, 1970, during a reconnaissance mission in enemy-controlled territory, Miller’s team was ambushed by a significantly larger North Vietnamese force. The initial contact was violent and immediate. Enemy fire pinned the team down and quickly inflicted casualties. Miller responded without hesitation. He moved through the kill zone under intense fire, returning fire and pulling wounded teammates to relative cover. When the team attempted to break contact, the enemy pressed aggressively, forcing them into a fighting withdrawal through dense terrain.

At one point, Miller exposed himself repeatedly to draw fire away from wounded men and to retrieve ammunition. He carried injured teammates, repositioned weapons, and kept up a steady stream of fire to prevent the enemy from overrunning the patrol. When the team’s position was nearly overrun, he helped establish a defensive perimeter and continued engaging the enemy at close range. Despite exhaustion and the constant threat of encirclement, he refused evacuation until every wounded man was moved. His actions bought the team time to regroup and ultimately survive an engagement that could easily have ended in annihilation.

For his conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, Miller was awarded the Medal of Honor. The citation captures only a fraction of what those moments demanded: physical courage, mental clarity under chaos, and the kind of loyalty that refuses to leave a teammate behind.

The Citation

Command Sergeant Major Franklin D. Miller
United States Army
Medal of Honor

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a team member with a reconnaissance patrol during combat operations on 5 January 1970, in Kontum Province, Republic of Vietnam. Sergeant Miller was serving as a team member with a long-range reconnaissance patrol operating deep within enemy-held territory. Shortly after insertion, the patrol was ambushed by a numerically superior hostile force. During the initial contact, several members of the patrol were wounded, and the team’s position became precarious. With complete disregard for his own safety, Sergeant Miller exposed himself to intense hostile fire to retrieve ammunition and redistribute it to his comrades. Although wounded himself, he repeatedly moved through the fire-swept area to aid the wounded and provide covering fire, enabling the patrol to maneuver and establish a defensive perimeter. When the patrol attempted to break contact, Sergeant Miller again exposed himself to heavy enemy fire to draw attention away from his wounded teammates and assist in their movement. Throughout the engagement, he displayed extraordinary heroism and unwavering devotion to his fellow soldiers, actions which were instrumental in preventing the patrol from being overrun. Sergeant Miller’s conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.