Colonel John Grider Miller, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired), managing editor of Proceedings from 1985 to 2000, died at his home in Annapolis, Maryland, on 31 August. He was 74.
His tenure at Proceedings covered a pivotal 15 years in contemporary history, especially within the realm of national security affairs: Oliver North testified before Congress on the Iran-Contra Affair; forces were marshaled in the Persian Gulf for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; and Americans learned global geography the hard way, through overseas missions in Somalia, Haiti, the Balkans, and a half-dozen other garden spots in between.
In his editorial role, John was a key figure in putting such actions into context, along with refereeing vigorous debates on doctrine, tactics, and weapon systems, among other issues.
John was a renaissance man. A crackerjack high school baseball player, he later held leadership positions in Civitans and the Military Order of World Wars. In his spare time, he sang in the church choir.
He was gifted with a distinct oral delivery style that made listeners smile out loud at his animated build-up and eyes-twinkling punchlines. His stories were all true and never veered into the ugly or spiteful, even when describing some well-known flag officer or politician who probably richly deserved it.
While he approached deadlines with the ferocity of a Rottweiler, his amiable temperament was all Labrador to the scores of people he assisted. Former colleague Laura Johnston said John had a particular knack for kindly strengthening an author's prose while always ensuring that the writer's intent was preserved in the final product.
A founding editor also of Naval History, John knew many of the policy players personally and routinely dealt in stride with Secretaries of the Navy, Commandants of the Marine Corps, and Chiefs of Naval Operations, as one might expect of a highly-regarded military historian and speechwriter to three Commandants himself.
The Maryland native and son of a Naval Academy graduate reported to Heaven's shore 24 years to the day after then-publisher retired Navy Captain Jim Barber hired him at the U.S. Naval Institute.
At the time of his death, John was planning a short road trip to Tidewater Virginia with Susan, his bride of 34 years. He was to render brief remarks on 14 September in acceptance of the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association's Brigadier General Robert L. Denig Award. Conferred annually for "helping to tell the Marine Corps Story," the award places John in the distinguished company of past recipients like Jim Lehrer, David Douglas Duncan, James Webb, and "The Corps'" novelist, W. E. B. Griffin.
Hardly his first literary honor, the Yale English major and Naval War College alum had also garnered the Navy League's Alfred Thayer Mahan Award and similar recognition from both the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation and the Naval Institute itself.
Among Institute staff dating back to 1873, John Miller was arguably the most authentic personification of the sword and the pen, the icon that dominates the organization's distinctive seal. He served two combat tours in Vietnam, had a chest-full of personal decorations (including three for valor), and commanded a Marine Corps infantry battalion.
Then there were the books.
He wrote the first, The Battle to Save the Houston, while still on active duty, serving as the III Marine Expeditionary Force operations officer on Okinawa.
Others followed, including works on adviser duty in South Vietnam, navigating the post-retirement civilian job market, and most recently, a work-in-progress on the storied Marine Barracks at 8th and I Streets in Washington, DC.
Whether writing, co-writing, or serving as what Susan calls "a book doctor," John poured himself into all his projects, most notably his top seller, The Bridge at Dong Ha, which chronicled the Navy Cross-earning heroics of his dear friend, the late Colonel John Ripley.
And there were also the beginnings of a novel: With All Due Respect was to be a sweeping tale that began in the 1950s and featured a strangely familiar, wry protagonist who had been schooled in the Ivy League, spent time in Paris, and later joined the Marines and went off to Vietnam.
Such is the stuff that might swell a lesser man's head. But John's focus was always oriented decidedly outward, away from himself.
And downward. He had a soft spot in his heart for the junior Marine, the young midshipman, the fledgling writer.
Younger brother Brian pointed out that John had belonged to the St. Crispin Society, a living echo of Shakespeare's rousing monologue from Henry V. In it, the warrior-king speaks of how, going into battle against insurmountable odds, even the vilest among them would find that the pending, heroic conflict would "gentle his condition."
Those privileged to have fought alongside John Grider Miller—literally or figuratively—have been similarly affected. All of us were better, are better, for having spent time with John. A memorial service will be held at the Fort Myer Chapel Monday, December 7 at 11 a.m., followed by internment with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
Semper Fidelis, old friend.