Anton Miller

Biography

Tony Miller, 89, of Brady died Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008, at Gothenburg Memorial Hospital.

Visitation will be from 1 pm -5 pm Saturday, Oct. 4 and 1 pm -6 pm Sunday, Oct. 5 at Blase-Strauser Memorial Chapel, Gothenburg, Nebraska.

Services and lunch are 11 a.m. Monday at Zion Lutheran Church of Gothenburg with Pastor Don Wilken officiating. Burial is at 2 p.m. at Fort McPherson National Cemetery at Maxwell with Military Honors by the Gothenburg Firing Squad and the US Army.

Anton William Miller was born May 21, 1919, to George and Nellie Miller on the family farm north of Gothenburg. He attended School District 161 through the eighth grade. He later worked for farmers and ranchers in the Platte River Valley.

Miller was drafted Nov. 5, 1941, and inducted at Fort Crook, Omaha. He went to Fort Leavenworth, KS, then Camp Polk. He was assigned to Co. E 32nd Armored Regiment. He was a tank commander and platoon leader most of World War II. He participated in the campaigns of Normandy, northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, central Europe and the Battle of the Bulge. He commanded seven tanks that were destroyed during combat. He was wounded in three separate instances and was awarded the Purple Heart with three oak leaf clusters.

Miller was discharged in June 1945 with the rank of staff sergeant. He married JoAnne Lawrence July 31, 1948, in North Platte. He reenlisted in 1949 and was stationed overseas with his wife. He was discharged in February 1954 and returned to Nebraska where he farmed and ranched near Hershey and Maxwell and then moved to a farm/ranch north of Brady in 1964.

He was preceded in death by two brothers, Earl and George Jr.

Miller is succeeded in death by his wife; three sons, Terry and his wife, Donella, and their children Derek, Melissa and Kristin, of Garden City, KS, Steve and his wife, Geri Lynn, and their son, Benjamin, of Laramie, WY, and Doug and his wife, Laura, and their children Eric, Jordan and Morgan, of Kearney; a sister, Edna Long, of Arnold; along with numerous nieces and nephews.

Memorials are suggested to the Disabled American Veterans or the Gothenburg Memorial Hospital Foundation and may be sent to 620 Tenth Street, Gothenburg, NE 69138.

Online condolences may be given to the family at www.blasestrauser.com