Private Verne W Miller

Verne Miller was born November 26, 1918 at Spirit River, Alberta, the son of Nathan Lamphere and Margaret Caroline (nee Finkle) Miller, and the brother of Harold Finkle, Kermit Theodore, Private Albert Quinton (RCEME), Private Frank Percy (RCEME), Dana LeRoy, Sergeant Robert Leon (RCAF), Private Raymond Alan, William Hugh (died in childhood in 1918), Lelah Grace, Muriel June, Irene Alberta, and Doris Mayva Miller.  He was 6’ ½”, 154 lbs, Fair complexion, Blue eyes, Fair hair and with 20/20 vision.

Raised in Spirit River until 1926, Verne moved to Winfield, British Columbia with his family where he completed his education in 1934.  Single, Verne drove a logging truck for S.M. Simpson’s sawmill before enlisting with the 2nd Battalion, Canadian Scottish at Kelowna, British Columbia July 11, 1940. He volunteered for Airborne forces and transferred to 1st Canadian Parachute battalion and qualified as a parachutist at Fort Benning, Georgia, USA on 14 November 1942. He arrived in England on 28 July 1943. Verne served with the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps. 

Private Miller and the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion jumped into Normandy on the night of 5/6 June 1944. He died of wounds on 29 June 1944, aged 25, and was buried in Ranville War Cemetery, Calvados, France.

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