Retired Tech Sgt. honored for lifetime of giving back

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  • By Megan Prather, Staff Writer

The spirit of giving back is something that stuck with retired Technical Sgt. JD Miller early in his military career.

Miller enlisted in the Air Force in 1954 with his first overseas assignment as a radio operator taking he and his wife, Clara, overseas.  

“When I was 22 years old in England, a family helped me and my wife when we really needed it and I’ve been trying to give back since,” Miller said.

His career took him to South Carolina, London, Japan and Vietnam as well as a year working as a crypto analyst at the Pentagon. However, when Miller retired from the Air Force in 1974, he knew his service wasn’t over. On Sept. 3 he was honored as the Military Retiree Activities Volunteer of the Year.

With Miller’s family and friends in attendance, 72nd Air Base Wing Commander Col. Paul Filcek presented Miller the award.

Since 1995, Miller has served at the Tinker Pharmacy for one to two days a week for a total of 15 to 20 hours a week. Miller provides customer service to around 200 customers daily as they pick up their prescriptions, as well as  also trains other volunteers.

Miller has also been an active member of the Protestant chapel community at Tinker for the past 46 years. During this time he has served as an usher and assisted chaplains where needed. In addition, he has provided tax preparation assistance to AARP members for the past 16 years and has volunteered at assisted living quarters in Midwest City delivering groceries and providing transportation along with a smile and a good laugh for the past 20 years.

“I think that’s why we’re here. I’m just paying it forward from that one incident,” Miller said.