Miller, Thurman
Posted on 15 September, 2021 by in Veterans By Name, M
31 August 2019
Born November 26th 1919 passed away September 2017
This biography of Thurman Miller USMC Gunnery Sgt. Is done from notes taken during a trip to (My Grandson Trenton Grimes) and I took to Thurman’s home in Mt. Hope West Virginia. I was introduced to Thurman by a man from Jackson Mi. named Roy Kaywood who donated a camera and sound system to my World War II project.
Thurman who liked to be called “Gunny” which is a revered title in the Marine Corps. Gunny enlisted into the USMC on September 3rd 1940. He went to boot camp in Paris Island then assigned as a rifleman to K-3-5 which is “K” Co. third Battalion 5th Regiment of the 1st Marine Division. He took the civilian ship named SS Manhattan which was renamed the USS Wakefield to the South Pacific. He fought the entire battle of Guadalcanal and at Cape Gloucester New Brittain Solomon Islands. He said in one of the battles the water that the Marine’s had was in 55 gal. Durms which was blue from oil in the durms. He drank water from mud holes which had “Squigglies” in it which were tadpoles.
I do not know who Asa Bordges is but Thurman said he recorded the “Battle of Suicide Creek” I am not sure if he recorded it by video or by written record.
In 2015 by phone I asked Thurman about the Marine Raider’s of which I only recorded one man who’s name was Bill Dakin from Lansing Michigan who was a personal friend of mine, he passed away in about 2003. Bill was in the 1st. Raider Battalion called Edson’s Raider named after the leader Merritt “Red Mike” Edson.
Thurman stated that the Raider’s were tougher and better trained than other Marine’s. The Raider’s were disbanded in early 1944 but were the founding Marines of what would become the “Marine Re-con” men.
Thurman personally knew Lew Walt during WW II and that he was fearless. Gen. Lew Walt was Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps in 1969.
My Grandson Trenton Grimes and I also went to visit Thurman Miller at the VA hospital in West Virginia when he was terminally ill from throat cancer in the summer of 2017. I have several pictures of Thurman and I at the VA hospital.
You will also see the name R. V. Burgin in a bio soon, he was a Private under Thurman on Cape Gloucester. Thurman introduced me by phone to R. V. Burgin in Dallas Texas who later introduced me to Dallas Detective Jim LeValle who was handcuffed to Lee Harvey Oswald when Oswald was killed by Jack Ruby on Nov. 24th 1963.
The note below is from a phone call August 30, 2015 to that I had with Thurman at his home in West Virginia. This is written December 12, 2019 by Larry Martin. The Navy left the Marine’s alone with only part of their provisions on Guadalcanal in August 1942 for many reasons. I asked Thurman if he thought the Navy left out of cowardness, he said absolutely not though some Marine’s thought so at the time. He read later about the reasons. One reason was the water’s around Guadalcanal were very limited in size and the Navy could not maneuver well, if the Navy got attacked is tight area’s like Iron Bottom sound they could very likely be sunk and after Pearl Harbor the Navy had very few ships so they could not stand the loss and still have the ships and manpower to do the fighting that lay ahead of them. I also asked Thurman (Gunny) his opinion of a Marine Congressional Medal of Honor recipient named Lt. Col. later a Major General named Merritt (Red Mike) Edson who committed suicide in 1958 by asphyxiation from a auto exhaust. Thurman’s knew Edson a little from the Guadalcanal battle. He thought that Gen. Edson probably committed suicide because of problems from the Korean War. According to Thurman there were a lot of suicides and desertions in Korea which probably bothered Edson. Also the “Responsibilities of Command”. The later in my opinion is that then Lt. Col. Edson of the “Edson Raiders” had sent many young men to their deaths and that may have weighed on his mind. From all of my reading about Edson he was personally fearless about his own safety but that is not the same as sending young men to their own death’s. The last sentence is just my personal opinion. Above my opinion is Gunnery Sergeant Thurman Miller’s opinion. I also interviewed a Marine named Bill Dakin in Lansing Michigan in about 2000 who was in Lt. Col. Edson battalion during the entire fighting on Guadalcanal as a Marine Raider in “Edson’s Raiders” and Bill only had very good things to say about Edson. Dakin fought from August 7th 1942 until the Raiders and the 1st Marine Division was relieved by the Army in December 1942. Dakin was then transferred into the 4th Marine Div. at which time he fought in the Marshall Islands as well as the horrible battle of Iwo Jima.
I spoke to Thurman on Aug 7th 2015 which is the 73rd anniversary of the start of the Guadalcanal campaign that Thurman was involved in the complete Marine Corps fighting. I called to thank him for his service to our country. Thurman stated that he was home by himself and that my call really lifted his morale. Thurman said that he thinks of his Marine friends who died on Guadalcanal very often. Historians feel that what the Marine Corps as well as the Army did on Guadalcanal saved Australia from a direct attack by Japan.