This week marks a sad anniversary — the World War II death of a hometown hero.

Sixty-six years later, people might not recognize the name of Richard Dale Miller. But mention “Dandy Dick,” and many longtime residents will remember him as the finest running back Longview High School ever produced.

After all, Miller and his younger brother Hardy helped lead LHS to its one-and-only football state championship in 1937.

Dick specialized in long touchdown runs. The 1938 LHS annual noted he also was “a nice passer, punter and blocker.”

Dick was named to all-state and All Mid-South teams. His talent on the gridiron earned a scholarship to Southern Methodist University.

Brother Hardy (his given name was Harding Wilson Miller) cleared the path for Dick with his superb blocking, although Hardy also “passed for many a long gain” and was considered one of the best punters in Texas.

“I’d met Uncle Dick only briefly as a 5- or 6-year-old before he left for World War II,” Kilgore’s Alma Nell (Miller) Farmer said this week. She knows a lot about the Miller boys. Her dad, James Leroy “Curley” Miller, was the boys’ oldest brother.

Orphans home

Dick was born May 6, 1919. Hardy came along on Dec. 8, 1921. Their father died in 1922.

“Their mother, Nellie Miller, labored tirelessly to keep her family together,” Mrs. Farmer recalled. “But it was an impossible task” with seven children to care for.

An uncle was appointed guardian. In September 1925, Mrs. Miller and her five youngest children (including Dick and Hardy) moved into the Independent Order of Odd Fellows orphans home in Corsicana.

The boys grew up and in 1936 enrolled at Longview High School. In 1937, with the 145-pound Dick running wild, Longview won all 14 games and a state title.

Expectations were high when Dick arrived at SMU. “He is a better back now than I was at the same stage,” said Bobby Wilson, an All-America back for the Mustangs in their 1935 national championship season.

However, World War II cut short Miller’s college career. He enlisted as a private in Gen. George Patton’s 318th Infantry Regiment, 80th Army Division.

In the winter of 1944-45, Miller was fighting in Belgium in the bloody Battle of the Bulge.

“I remember as a teenager some of his siblings had letters that he had written while in the war,” said Mrs. Farmer. “I was impressed at his description of how very, very cold it was over there. I wish we had those letters. They would be priceless today.”

Luxembourg

Dick Miller’s life ended Jan. 27, 1945, the victim of enemy fire. “As a child, I remember the knock on the door when my dad was notified of his death. A very solemn moment,” said Mrs. Farmer.

Word of Miller’s death didn’t reach Longview until Feb. 11, when the Longview News-Journal ran a Page 1 story.

The 25-year-old soldier was buried in Belgium’s beautiful Luxembourg American Cemetery. There are 5,076 American troops buried there, including Gen. Patton. A total 19,000 Americans died in the Battle of the Bulge.

Hardy Miller followed his brother to SMU, lettering in football in 1941-42. He joined the U.S. Navy during the war. According to Mrs. Farmer, Hardy “returned to SMU after the war, graduated and worked for the Bostitch Corp., eventually advancing to the position of vice president.”

I’m sorry to report Hardy Miller died Nov. 21 in Dallas. Survived by wife, Barbara, a son and a daughter, the former Longview Lobo was 88 years old. Mrs. Farmer said he was “larger than life” like his hero brother.

“My dad and his family always loved sports. Dick’s and Hardy’s exploits on the gridiron were often repeated in Miller family lore,” she said.

— Van “Salute” Craddock’s latest book is “Longview,” a postcard history of the city. His e-mail is vancraddock@sbcglobal.net