Army Sgt. Mikeal W. Miller

Died January 27, 2008 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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22, of Albany, Ore.; assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.; died Jan. 27 at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., of wounds sustained in Baghdad on July 9, 2007, when the vehicle he was in encountered an improvised explosive device.

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Soldier eulogized as best part of his parents

The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. — An Albany soldier killed in Iraq was remembered Saturday as the best part of both of his parents at his service and burial in Willamette national Cemetery.

Sgt. Mikeal Miller, 22, was hit in the head by shrapnel in Baghdad June 9 and died Jan. 27. He was on his second tour in Iraq.

“Time is too slow for those who wait,” said Gov. Theodore Kulongoski, quoting author Henry Van Dyke. “Too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.”

Friends, family and Gen. Charles Jacoby remembered Miller with stories and photos.

“Mike was the best part of me and the best part of Rene mixed together,” his father Steve said. “Megan, he loved you to death,” he said of Miller’s wife.

“I feel glad, and I am happy that he was mine,” Steve Miller said.

Miller’s mother, wife and father each received a folded flag at the service.

Miller never regained consciousness after he was wounded. He died at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

Miller grew up in Lakeview and Albany, and he played football at South Albany High School.

The last picture in the slide show was of Megan’s hand holding Mike’s on his hospital bed.

Miller joined the Army in 2003, the summer after he graduated high school. He was deployed to Iraq in 2004 and again in October 2006. His medals included the Purple Heart and the Army Commendation Medal. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Calvary Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

He was the 103rd person from Oregon or with close Oregon ties to die in Iraq or Afghanistan, according to a list maintained by the governor’s office.