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| Lt. Lester Miller served with the 79th Infantry Division in France. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33384860/lester-leneau-miller https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1041&context=ww_reg_his |
Lester Leneau Miller never had a chance to reach 100 years old. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
I began this project on January 1, 2017. It will conclude on September 2, 2020, the 75th anniversary of the end of World War 2. During the intervening time, a different fallen serviceman was profiled every day on his 100th birthday. I have decided to round out the project by profiling one of the fallen born between December 7, 1916 and December 31, 1916. This will result in one of the fallen being profiled for every day America was engaged in World War 2. The total will be 1,366 men and women. That's enough for only 13 stars out of the 4,048 on the Freedom Wall of the World War II Memorial.
Lester was born on December 30, 1916 in South Carolina(?). His parents Furman and Lillie were born in South Carolina and North Carolina, respectively. Lester had three younger sisters.
He enlisted in the army and was accepted for officer training. He became a first lieutenant in Company I, 3rd Battalion, 314th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division. Serving as a lieutenant in a rifle company was a high risk position. The 79th ID was in action in France within 2 weeks of D-Day. By the end of June it had take the important Normandy harbor of Cherbourg from the Germans. It participated in numerous actions across the advance through France. By September, the 79th ID had reached the Belgium border.
During the first couple of weeks of September, the 79th ID captured over 2,200 German. It was given a few days rest and on September 18, the 314th IR was presented with a USO show headlined by Bing Crosby. Nearby enemy action required the men to begin leaving the show in sections so that by the end, the audience was gone.
On September 20, the 3rd Battalion was given the thankless task of establishing a bridgehead across the Meurthe River near Fraimbois, France. The enemy was well positioned in heavy woods on the other side of the river and there was no cover for the GIs. The 3rd Battalion took heavy casualties and had to result to hand-to-hand fighting to dislodge the Germans. About 160 men were wounded and 31 were killed, including Lt. Miller, killed in action on September 22.
His grave is at Riverside Cemetery in Dillion, South Carolina.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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