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Miller's Vets is a drill team of selected homeless Veterans in South Bend, Indiana, formed in January 2009 by Robert L. Miller, Sr., a former St. Joseph Superior Court Judge and LCDR, USNR (Ret).
Judge Miller's inspiration was induced by his granddaughter, Amanda Miller, Events Coordinator at the Center for the Homeless. His motivation was a photo of a homeless man in a coffin-like box, appearing in a South Bend Tribune photo by Jim Rider. His vision was of lions laying down with the lambs (Isaiah 11:6, 65:25), as painted by his nurse, Eva Johnson, Master Gardener and Artist. When he first met the eligible Vets, he was stricken by the obvious fact that their personalities and background were as different as the four corners of the earth, nearly as different as lions are from lambs. He discovered that their commonality as Veterans was the singular element unifying them in perfect cadence. Thus, the biblical prophecy from Isaiah was adopted as the logo, appearing on all identifying banners and uniform patches. His goal is to get all of the homeless Veterans off the streets and from under bridges. His hope is to give them purpose, to renew their spirit, regain their self-respect, and to help them get a fresh start in life.
Toward this end, we have put uniforms on our Veterans, refreshed their prior military experiences pertaining to marching, parading with, and posting of Colors, all to the end we have been able to extensively put our veterans in the public eye, under such circumstances that the public has been able to vigorously express their deep seated appreciation for the service our Veterans have rendered to their country. It is our experience that the public's participation has been instrumental in accomplishing our goals of restoring our Veterans' self-esteem and renewing their spirit of Hope. This is in addition to all of the valuable training and help rendered to the veterans as the Guests of the Center at large.
To expand on that program, we have purchased and are remodeling a neighboring property, 747 Project, whose primary purpose will exclusively serve approximately 40 Veterans of our community, which in turn, will permit us to further expand our veterans exposure.
Additionally, we have created a Military Honors Funeral Program, which we have entitled "The Last Salute", intended to make available to poor veterans a first-class, personalized Funeral at no charge. We are persuaded that the availability of an honorable Service should not be available only to those veterans who can pay. The basics are already in place and we have entered the "fine tuning" phase. It is suspected that this additional program, quite like the former, will be another first in the nation.
As they once served their nation, Miller's Vets now proudly serve their community.
The Miller's Vets Committee is as follows.
Hon. Robert L. Miller, Sr. (Click for Bio)
Commander, Miller's Vets, Co. C
Louise Hojnacki (Click for Bio)
Executive Assistant, Miller's Vets, Co. C
Dave Rice (Click for Bio)
Adjutant, Miller's Vets, Co. C
Justin Kollar (Click for Bio)
Drill Master, Miller's Vets, Co. C
Richard L. Farrell, Jr. (Click for Bio)
Capt, USNR (Ret)
Coordinator and Technical Advisor, Miller's Vets, Co. C
Steve Camilleri (Click for Bio)
Executive Director, Center for the Homeless
Secretary Treasurer, Miller’s Vets, Co. C
Mark Harbaugh (Click for Bio)
Transportation Chairman, Miller’s Vets, Co. C
Former members are as follows.
Charles R. McDonald, Jr. (Click for Bio)
Former Vice Commander, Miller's Vets, Co. C
1stSgt John J. Pettinato Jr. (Click for Bio)
1stSgt, Co. C, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion
Former Drill Master, Miller's Vets, Co. C
David M. Woods (Click for Bio)
Col, USAF (Ret)
Former Coordinator and Technical Advisor, Miller's Vets, Co. C
Donald L. Neely, DHS (Click for Bio)
Former Chaplain, Miller’s Vets, Co. C
Sgt Ted H. Keckler (Click for Bio)
Former Adjutant, Miller's Vets, Co. C
Phillip A. Noe (Click for Bio)
Former Adjutant, Miller's Vets, Co. C
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