Wheaton parade to salute family of fallen soldier
It's easy to lose sight of why we come together on a busy summer day filled with spectacle, barbecues and parties.
But anyone searching for meaning on our nation's holiday can find it when a hush comes over the crowd at the Wheaton Fourth of July Parade and a Gold Star family passes by.
Maureen Miller and her husband, Phil, will return to Wheaton as the grand marshals of a parade that steps off at 10 a.m. near Main Street and Hawthorne Boulevard.
She calls the role a "special honor," but deflects attention from her own unimaginable grief.
"It is about Rob. It's not about us," Maureen Miller said. "It's about keeping Rob's memory alive."
Her son, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Miller, a Wheaton North High School grad, died a hometown hero nine years ago.
Insurgents far outnumbered Miller's team of Special Forces and Afghan troops during a battle in a valley near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border early Jan. 25, 2008.
His patrol fell under heavy fire, but Miller, who learned the native language of Pashto, still advanced, radioing information about the enemy's location and drawing their fire away from soldiers.
Miller was shot in his torso, but continued fighting until the 24-year-old was mortally wounded. The rest of the team - seven soldiers and 15 Afghan troops - survived.
Former President Barack Obama posthumously presented Miller's Medal of Honor - the country's highest military award - to his family in 2010.
"This is the story of what one American soldier did for his team, but it's also a story of what they did for him," Obama said in his remarks at the time. "Two of his teammates braved the bullets and rushed to Rob's aid. In those final moments, they were there at his side - American soldiers there for each other."
Memorials in honor of Miller's sacrifice were built around Wheaton. His parents, who moved to Florida 14 years ago, plan to visit one of them: the Army Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller Home, a permanent housing program run by the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans.
On July 6, the Millers also will attend a ceremony to rename the Homeland Security Education Center at the College of DuPage after their son.
The tributes, Maureen Miller says, help the family cope and serve as a reminder of his "sense of duty" and love of country.
"We really appreciate all that the people of Wheaton have done to remember Rob," she said.
If you go
What: Wheaton Fourth of July Parade
When: 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 4
Route: Main Street and Hawthorne Boulevard; heads south on Main; turns west on Wesley Street; south on Wheaton Avenue; east on Front Street; and ends at Cross and Front streets
Entries: More than 90
Theme: "There's No Place Like Home"
Info: wheatonparkdistrict.com