Raphael Miller’s father was a well-known and respected minister in the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ. Before he was 18 yeas old he made two trips to England with his father. After high school, Raphael enrolled at the American University of Washington in 1932, at the age of fifteen, and graduated four years later with a degree in electrical engineering. During his four years of study he worked as a counselor at a boys’ Y.M.C.A. camp at Chesapeake Bay for four years, and that experience altered the direction of his life. He decided to pursue a life of ministry and entered the Colgate-Rochester Seminary, pastoring the Christian Church of Town near Churchville, New York, while studying. Upon graduation from the seminary he was ordained a minister in the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, at his father’s pastorate, the National City Christian Church in Washington, D.C., where he combined his former interest in electricity and his now passion for ministry in his first sermon titled “The Light of the World.” He then became pastor of Linwood Christian Church, and became Chairman of the State Board of Christian Education. During World War II, he was commissioned a U.S. Army chaplain, subsequently serving for 40 years in active and reserve status. After the war he was guest speaker for many churches, and held several pastorates.
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Awards Received
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Silver Star
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Silver Star
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Silver Star
Service:
United States ArmyRank:
Captain (Chaplain’s Corps), [then First Lieutenant]Regiment:
255th Infantry RegimentDivision:
63d Infantry DivisionAction Date:
January 3 – 4, 1945
Headquarters, 63d Infantry Division, General Orders No. 282 (June 25, 1945)The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Captain (Chaplain’s Corps), [then First Lieutenant] Raphael Harwood Miller, Jr. (ASN: 0-556485), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Headquarters, 255th Infantry Regiment, 63d Infantry Division, in action on 3 – 4 January 1945, in the vicinity of Achen, France. During a battle in the town, Chaplain Miller voluntarily went forward under fire to act as a litter bearer and a driver for an evacuation vehicle. Although he was wounded in the arm he did not cease his care of the wounded until he had evacuated twenty-five casualties. Chaplain Miller’s gallantry under fire enriched the traditions of the Corps of Chaplains, of which he is a member, and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States.
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Silver Star
Service:
United States ArmyRank:
Captain (Chaplain’s Corps)Regiment:
255th Infantry RegimentDivision:
63d Infantry DivisionAction Date:
March 17, 1945
Headquarters, 63d Infantry Division, General Orders No. 289 (June 24, 1945)The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Silver Star to Captain (Chaplain’s Corps) Raphael H. Miller, Jr. (ASN: 0-556485), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Headquarters, 255th Infantry Regiment, 63d Infantry Division, in action on 17 March 1945, in the vicinity of the Siegfried Line. Chaplain Miller voluntarily went under a heavy concentration of enemy fire to aid the wounded. Twenty-eight wounded men today owe their lives to his heroism. Such gallantry under fire reflects credit upon Chaplain Miller and upon the Armed Forces of the United States.