Friends honor fallen soldier with their sweat

Rob Miller was as intense a guy as they come, someone always looking for a challenge.

So it should surprise no one that several of Miller's friends spent Saturday remembering their fallen friend by competing in a grueling workout routine. They say he would have loved to have been there.

Army Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller, 24, was killed Jan. 25 by Taliban fighters as he protected his fellow special forces soldiers during combat operations near the Pakistan border in Afghanistan.

According to the Army Special Operations Command, Miller was leading a team of Afghan security forces and other coalition soldiers during a combat reconnaissance patrol in Konar Province, near the Pakistan border when insurgents hiding in a structure attacked Miller's team.

Among the bevy of awards and citations he received during his brief Army career was the Army Commendation Medal for Valor.

Throughout Saturday, about 60 people gathered at the Batavia home of Warrenville police Sgt. Brian Melvin to remember Miller by completing the CrossFit Hero Workout named after fallen Navy Lt. Michael Murphy, 29, of New York.

"Rob would have been all over this today," Melvin said. "He was intense with his workouts. No joke."

Participants paid $20, then ran a 1-mile course through Melvin's neighborhood before returning to the garage to do 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups and 300 squats before finishing up with another 1-mile run.

Miller's best friend and Wheaton North classmate, Bobby Kaye of Warrenville said they chose the "Murph" workout to put themselves in Miller's "zone."

"We believe this workout best simulates the types of combat operations Rob was involved in," Kaye said. "It requires intense mental and physical strength."

Melvin said he would like to make the workout an annual event to raise money for the fund set up by Miller's family to support children whose fathers have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"Everyone's helping keep Rob's memory alive and that's what it's about," he said.

Several local restaurants donated food to help the athletes refuel after crossing the finish line.