Anthony Miller

West Point, 2004

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Anna on February 3, 2002:

I met Anthony last year when I was in B2 with him. He lived a few doors down from us and would constantly poke his head in our door just to say hello and make a quick joke. The thing I remember most about Anthony was his sense of humor. No matter what the situation, even in the middle of Infantry Week during Buckner this past summer, he could always always always get everyone laughing. I remember the last night of Infantry Week my platoon was setting up to defend the next morning, digging up mud and rocks, and preparing for the rain that we knew was going to come in the middle of the night. Although Anthony was on profile and had not been with us for most of the week (despite his begging to join us, they would not let him because of an injury), that night just before it got dark he showed up and came to sleep next to myself and my "ranger buddy." We had dug a hole to lay in and stacked bushes around our position for concealment, and were waiting to be attacked the next morning. Anthony came over to join us just as it started to get cold, and the three of us ended up staying awake until about 2am joking about the week of tortue that we had endured, and laughing about memories from the summer. Even though we were freezing, and all huddled under a few thin blankets lying in the middle of the woods, we were incredibly happy to be done with the worst week of Buckner. I remember Anthony talking about how he couldn't believe that we were already going to be team leaders, and that we were already done with an entire year. About 3 in the morning it started to rain...and our hole started to fill up with water. Now we were wet, and shaking from the cold, but all Anthony did was laugh about the situation. We all stayed awake for the rest of the night, laying in a pool of water, just laughing and having a good time. When we were "attacked" at about 6am, the three of us could only hold our position for about 20 minutes before myself and my ranger buddy were shot. Anthony was not, so he grabbed my extra ammmo and started running through the woods screaming like rambo, and putting smiles on everyone's faces. I have tried, but I can not think of a single time when I saw Anthony mad or upset for any reason. Everytime I see the Army football team play I will remember Anthony, and he undying love for not only the sport, but for life. He was loved by everyone who knew him. He will be missed, but never forgotten. My deepest condolences to his family.

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