Aurora World War II veteran Dick Miller will be the grand marshal of the Aurora Memorial Day Parade set for Monday, May 27, in the city’s downtown.
With the theme “Remembrance and Respect,” the parade will step off at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Benton and River streets. It will head east on Benton, north on Broadway, west on Downer Place and end at River Street. The reviewing stand will be in front of the G.A.R. Memorial Museum, 23 E. Downer Place.
Leading the parade as the grand marshal will be Miller, who was born in Aurora on June 26, 1926, and attended St. Paul School and East Aurora High School.
Upon graduation from high school, he enlisted in the United States Navy in 1944. He was stationed in Pearl Harbor in Hawaii before being deployed on the destroyer U.S.S. Drexler, which headed for the staging area for the Battle of Okinawa, the bloodiest battle of the war in the Pacific, city officials said in a press release about the upcoming parade.
The U.S.S. Drexler was destroyed after kamikaze planes crashed into it during the battle.
“I was a spotter for Japanese kamikaze planes,” Miller said in the release. “We were hit twice, and the second one blew our ship to pieces and propelled us into the ocean.”
Nearly 160 people on board were killed, and another 52 were wounded, including Miller, officials said.
Keeping himself afloat by holding onto an empty canister, he spent a couple of hours in the water with black oil splashing into his eyes, nose and mouth, according to the release. Swallowing it could have been fatal.
A pilot searching for survivors eventually rescued him, and he was transported to a hospital in Pearl Harbor, officials said.
The war in the Pacific ended while he was recovering in the hospital. Miller was discharged in April 1946 and returned home to Illinois and joined the Navy Reserve for an additional five years, according to the release.
At nearly 98, Miller is still active in veterans’ causes in the community and frequently speaks at local schools and civic groups about his experiences.
Guests can greet Miller before the parade during the Grand Marshal’s Reception at 9 a.m. at the G.A.R. Military Museum.
The Memorial Day Parade will also feature local veterans groups and military organizations, including the Aurora Veterans Advisory Council, Roosevelt Aurora American Legion Post 84, Waidley V.F.W. 468, the Daughters of the American Revolution and the G.A.R. Memorial Commission.
Marching bands will take part including those from East Aurora High School, West Aurora High School, Metea Valley High School, Granger Middle School, Hill Middle School and Still Middle School, along with the Aurora Roosevelt American Legion Band.
Other units participating will include the South Shore Drill Team, the Lamplighters Barbershop Chorus, Costumers with a Cause, the Phillips Park Zoo, the Aurora Public Library’s Bookmobile, the East Aurora NJROTC, the West Aurora High School Cheer Team and the Simply Destinee Dance Team.