Miller, Vernon Leslie

F/S Vernon Leslie Miller, eighth son of Mr. and Mrs. Alex Miller, Paris Highway, was reported missing on December 1, 1943, on a mission to Koritza in Albania. Serving as an air gunner in the R.C.A.F., he was flying in a Halifax bomber with a crew of seven and five army personnel as passengers when the plane crashed in the mountainous area in Northern Greece. His family has some measure of comfort in the news, forwarded to them by Greek officials, that F/S Miller and the other occupants of the plane were buried with fitting ceremonies in the Athens Cemetery. If fate has any part in the destiny of young fliers, it seemed a strange series of accidents that befell F/S Miller from the time he began operations over enemy territory. He had made 22 sorties and on almost every one his life was endangered. Three times he and the crew were forced to bail from damaged planes. He enlisted in the R.C.A.F. in April, 1942, and trained in Dunnville and Belleville, and graduated as a sergeant air gunner from Mont Joli on December 29, 1942. After a brief leave at home he left for overseas, reaching England on February 8, 1943. He then continued his training in Wales and was later attached to an R.A.F. squadron. After many raids over Germany, he transferred to North Africa in August, 1943, and in November was moved to Egypt. Born January 9, 1924, Vernon attended the Paris Public and High Schools and completed his education with a course in electricity at the Brantford Collegiate Institute and Vocational School. He then joined the staff of the Bell Telephone Company of Canada as a linesman. He was an adherent of the Paris Baptist Church and a member of the Baraca Class.

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