Raymond S. Miller

When the group's telegrams to the Milita Bureau in Washington D.C. were not responded to, they planned at trip to D.C.

On September 26, 1920 (then Captain) Miller, along with Major William Garis and General Rhinow, embarked on a 1,600 mile journey to Washington D.C. that took seven days. Their journey included overnight stays in Madison, Wisconsin, Van Wert, Ohio, Buffalo, New York, Poughkeepsie, New York, and Garden City, New York. Their stop in Van Wert, Ohio was at Ray Miller's childhood home. Miller landed their aircraft in a field across the road from the Miller family farm located about four miles west of Van Wert proper. When the group stopped in Poughkeepsie, New York they were delayed there an additional night due to weather.

It was not until January 17, 1921, the 109th Observation Squadron was the first federally recognized Air National Guard squadron. Miller was assigned as Squadron Commander of the 109th Observation Squadron and promoted to the level of Major.

On February 10, 1941, Miller relinquished command of the 109th Observation Squadron for assignments due to the rapid organization and expansion of the Air Forces with the onset of World War II. While Miller was in active-duty status in the Air Force, he was first assigned as the Squadron and Group Commanding Officer at Easler Field, Alabama from February 26, 1941, until April 16, 1941. Again serving as the Squadron and Group Commanding Officer, Miller was assigned to a training field in Louisiana until October 27, 1941. Miller then went to Wright Field near Dayton, Ohio, where he eventually became an Inspector General and was there through January 31, 1942. Still as an Inspector General, Miller was reassigned to Rome, New York, at the newly activated Rome Air Depot, which would eventually be named Griffiss Air Force Base.[7]

On August 3, 1943, he would be elevated to Commanding Officer of the 420th Base Hqs and 420th Air Base Squadron. A month later Miller would become the Base Commander, again at the Rome Air Depot. He remained the Base Commander of the 4104th Army Air Force Base until he left for the European Theater in late December of that same year.

In Europe, Miller was assigned to the 7th Air Force Tactical Air Command as an Air Inspector until the end of the war.

Ray Miller served active Federal Service from February 1941 until he was released in June 1946 and was a Colonel at the time he left active service.

Post-WWII, Miller was relieved from active Federal Service on June 18, 1946, and rapidly reorganized the Minnesota Air National Guard. As a member of the 133rd Tactical Fighter Wing, Miller flew a North American P-51 Mustang. In March 1950, Miller was promoted to Brigadier General and on March 1, 1951, he was again called to active military service due to the Korean War. Through the Korean War, General Miller served in the Air Defense Command in Colorado.

Following the Korean War, Miller was relieved from active military service on May 31, 1952, and was in retired status after 33 years of service to his nation and continued to actively serve as an advisor to all affairs of the Minnesota Air National Guard.

Portrait of Raymond S Miller

They carried the general to his grave Saturday.

High atop Pilot's Knob overlooking the vast green valleys of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, his old friends and comrades in arms gathered to say goodbye to their commanding officer.

Overhead a squadron of jets screamed past in final, awesome salute to the aviator whose element was the air long before the jet pilots were even born.

This was familiar ground to the general to the general. He'd cut the throttle many a time over Pilot's Knob in aerial respect to those aviators of his time who'd gone before him.

And now the general's time had come to join the silent ranks of fliers buried there on that green knoll. And honor guard raised rifles. At command they fired a volley over the general. It shattered the still air of the cemetery and echoed, off the distant banks of the rivers.

A fierce proud spirit, a pioneer in man's conquest of the air, the father of our nation's volunteer air defense forces, General Ray S. miller was laid to rest.....[9]

Miller was inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame in 1988.[11]

Many facilities and streets are named for Miller, such as Miller Drive at Fort Snelling in St Paul, Minnesota.

The airfield at Camp Ripley in Little Falls, Minnesota, is named the Ray S. Miller Army Airfield.[12]

• Haase, Greg; Ueland, Lowell; Lovegren, Amy; Von Eschen, Kristin; Graham, Bruce (2023). Century In The Sky 1921 - 2021 (1st ed.). Minnesota Air National Guard Historical Foundation. p. 14.