Zachariah Miller

West Point, 2002

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by John Kendall on December 30, 2004:

The first time I remember Zack was when the new plebes of G3 joined together on a grassy plain towards the end of Beast Barracks. We all introduced ourselves to each other with the usual pleasantries. I don't remember much about whatever everybody else said but I do remember Zack pledging to help anyone of us out if we needed it. That proved to be true. Taking regular math that first semester I recall him helping out everyone in the company and then some. Of course he was brilliant in math and while those math projects were throwing us for loops he maintained his calm while patiently helping us. Zack would soon realize that he needed bigger challenges than MA 103 and promptly piled on the tough courses. Before we knew it he was out doing what we Gophers called "Zack Miller stuff". Preparing for a Rhodes scholarship that most of us couldn't even dream about. I especially admired how he had gone to the Middle East and participated in a cultural/military exchange. It fascinated me what he had experienced and the possibilities of where he would be going. That was why it was even more shocking when I learned of his death. I was in Verona, Italy at the time and the news completely floored me. Zack was a guy who never accepted defeat. I remembered him as I later trudged through those same Benning woods. A year after his death I landed in Baghdad, Iraq for a year long tour. His memory gives us strength. He always made it look so easy...rest in peace bro.

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