A bit about my Granddad

A few articles about my Grandad, Harry Miller Sr.  He was a Navy pilot that flew in WWII.

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Springstein Plant 
ENSIGN HARRY MILLER WRITES OF RESCUING AIRPLANE CREW AT SEA 

Likely ~Early 1943

We've mentioned Springstein's red-haired hero, Ensign Harry Miller, several time in The Springs Bulletin and a recent letter of his relates a very interesting experience: 

"We left Ascension on the way to South America and had been out about an hour and a half when we picked up a faint SOS. We knew what it was — A-20 was lost the day before and was ditched when it ran out of gas. They didn't know where to look for the crew though. Anyway, we took a bearing on the radio and headed on the course; in about 20 minutes we saw a white balloon and there they were — two men in a rubber life raft. There is a little radio in those boats and you fasten an antenna to a little white balloon filled with gas and it holds the wire up. The radio will transmit for two hours before the batteries give out. That's what saved their lives, too, because it's almost impossible to find a boat out on the ocean unless you know exactly where to look. You can't imagine how hard they are to see. 

"We dropped out some sea dye to color the water, then went back 90 miles to a small ship we had passed. We got them headed in the right direction and then circled them for seven hours. That's how long it takes a ship to go 90 miles. That was some job too, for a B-24 just wasn't made to circle seven hours. We were making about five-mile circles but still that's a pretty good bank for a B-24. We were also throttled back to 170 MPH and that makes this ship hard to handle. Finally though, the ship got there and picked the fellows up — there was only two of them in the crew, pilot and navigator. They sure were glad to see us and did some wild waving. I don't blame them though, because only a few are ever heard from once they go down. These two fellows are in the hospital now. By the time they were picked up, our gas was getting too low to come to South America: so we went back to the island. To show you the difference in the speed of a plane al-id ship, it took us less than a hour and a half to get back and it took -UT a ship 17 hours. Quite a difference, but of course the ship can be pretty certain it will get there and we just guess! This is my first experience at a rescue job. 

"I went to the show myself tonight. We have an open air job here. You should see it — don't have to pay even, just find a seat. "I get to drive a jeep a lot now Always keep a bottle of Sloan's liniment handy, because they'll beat you to death!"

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Ensign Harry Malone Miller, son of Mr, and
Mrs. L. H. Miller. Ensign Hiller worked in the
superintendent’s office at Springstein before
entering the Navy. He is the son of Mr.
and Mrs. L. R. Miller York road, Chester.

HARRY MILLER ENSIGN IN NAVY 

Harry entered upon his C. P. T. training at Salisbury, N. C., September, 1942, and thus begun the climb of the cadet's ladder to pilots success. He received his commission at Corpus Christi, Texas, last October and was stationed at Jacksonville Naval Station until January, as chief pilot of a PBY Catalina Patrol bomber. He achieved a record in all phases of his training of which anyone should be proud. 

Springstein claims him as her own, yet any of the "seven" would be proud to claim ownership, for Harry is the kind of fellow who sticks to the last and is determined to make a success of whatever he tackles. He believes that to have a friend is to be one and, as some eminent author once said, "Sincerity is the noblest of all virtues." 

All would not be told unless we said that Harry is quite fond of the ladies; just as they are fond of him though it is hard to say where his true love resides; in fact, four live in one house, which makes a difficult situation which very few men besides Harry could handle! 

Springstein's loss is the Navy's gain and today he is numbered among Bomber Squadron 107; Care Fleet Post Office, New York. His ex-boss is of the opinion that if every Jap sub had a heart painted on it, Harry would make a direct hit every time. 

All who know Harry share the opinion that he is a remarkable fellow and for him we predict a future of great success. 

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