Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, 5th Special Forces Group,
1st Special Forces. place and date:
Kontum province, Republic of Vietnam, 5 January 1970. Entered service at:
Albuquerque, N. Mex. Born: 27 January
1945, Elizabeth City, N.C. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity
in action at the risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty. S/Sgt. Miller, 5th Special Forces Group, distinguished
himself while serving as team leader of
an American_Vietnamese long_range reconnaissance patrol operating deep within
enemy controlled territory.
Leaving the helicopter insertion point, the patrol moved forward on its mission.
Suddenly, 1 of the team members tripped
a hostile booby trap which wounded 4 soldiers. S/Sgt. Miller, knowing that
the explosion would alert the enemy, quickly
administered first aid to the wounded and directed the team into positions
across a small stream bed at the base of a steep hill.
Within a few minutes, S/Sgt. Miller saw the lead element of what he estimated
to be a platoon_size enemy force moving toward
his location. Concerned for the safety of his men, he directed the small
team to move up the hill to a more secure position. He
remained alone, separated from the patrol, to meet the attack. S/Sgt. Miller
single-handedly repulsed 2 determined attacks by
the numerically superior enemy force and caused them to withdraw in disorder.
He rejoined his team, established contact with a forward air controller and
arranged the evacuation of his patrol. However, the
only suitable extraction location in the heavy jungle was a bomb crater some
150 meters from the team location. S/Sgt. Miller
reconnoitered the route to the crater and led his men through the enemy
controlled jungle to the extraction site. As the evacuation
helicopter hovered over the crater to pick up the patrol, the enemy launched
a savage automatic weapon and rocket_propelled
grenade attack against the beleaguered team, driving off the rescue helicopter.
S/Sgt. Miller led the team in a valiant defense which
drove back the enemy in its attempt to overrun the small patrol. Although
seriously wounded and with every man in his patrol a
casualty, S/Sgt. Miller moved forward to again single-handedly meet the hostile
attackers. From his forward exposed position,
S/Sgt. Miller gallantly repelled 2 attacks by the enemy before a friendly
relief force reached the patrol location. S/Sgt. Miller's
gallantry, intrepidity in action, and selfless devotion to the welfare of
his comrades are in keeping with the highest traditions of the
military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S.
Army.
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Franklin D. Miller
