Vietnam Veteran Doug Miller Remembers Fallen Friend Roger Lewis on Anniversary of His Death
ASHLAND COUNTY — On this Valentine’s Day, Vietnam veteran Doug Miller is sharing a memory that has stayed with him for more than five decades, honoring a fallen friend and fellow soldier whose life was cut short in the Vietnam War.
Miller reflected on the events of February 14, 1969, when Roger Lewis was killed by small arms fire after the convoy he was driving in was ambushed in Vietnam. Lewis was assigned to the 523rd Transportation Company in Qui Nhon and had been in-country for just 37 days.
Their connection began months earlier, back home in Ohio.
“On August 4, 1968, Roger and I rode the same bus from New Philadelphia to the United States Army Induction Center in Cleveland,” Miller recalled. “We were then sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky, for basic training and assigned to the same company and platoon.”
The two trained side by side before being deployed, unaware of how brief Lewis’s time overseas would be.
Lewis is remembered not only as a soldier, but as one of 37 men from Tuscarawas County who lost their lives during the Vietnam War — a statistic that Miller says still carries a heavy emotional weight.
“RIP,” Miller wrote. “You will never be forgotten.”
Miller’s reflection serves as a powerful reminder of the personal bonds forged in wartime — and the lasting impact of lives lost far too soon.
