Brooks Miller
Corporal Brooks Miller served with Mike Company, Third Battalion, 4th Marines.
He was captured at Corregidor and executed while a prisoner of war on 5 October 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 270634
Current Status
Remains not recovered.
Pursuit Category
This information has not been publicized by DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 1, 1920
at Berkeley, CA
Parents
John Janney Miller
Rena (Brooks) Miller
later Rena B. Kenyon
Education
San Bernardino Valley College
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
March 9, 1939
at Norfolk, VA
Home Of Record
1412 Runnymede Road
Norfolk, VA
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Rena Brooks Kenyon
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
M/3/4th Marines
Campaigns Served
Individual Decorations
Prisoner of War Medal
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Corporal Brooks Miller served with the 4th Marines during the defense of the Philippine Islands and the siege of Corregidor. He was captured when the garrison capitulated on 6 May 1942, and held as a prisoner of war at Bilibid for several months. Eventually, Brooks was sent to Pasay Camp on a labor detail. Prisoners lived in an old school building and worked on an airfield extension at Nichols Field – essentially tearing down a mountain with hand tools.
In September 1942, Corporal Miller was apprehended while trying to escape from a working detail at Nichols Field. He was brutally beaten in front of other prisoners – for several days, by some accounts – and subsequently disappeared. Miller was executed by the camp guards, either by shooting or beheading, on or around 5 October 1942.
It should be noted that several primary and modern sources incorrectly give Miller’s date of loss as October 1944. This error first appears on his USMC casualty card and likely represents a presumed date of death. Other primary records agree on 1942 as the correct date.
Burial Information or Disposition
According to PFC Howard W. Humphreys, no Americans actually witnessed Miller’s execution – they were told about it by the camp guards, and forced to march past a grave which was said to be Miller’s. The exact location of the grave, and whether or not it was indeed Miller’s burial place, are no longer known.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Rena Brooks Kenyon.
Brooks’ wife, Mrs. Marie Madsden Miller, lived in Del Rey, California.
Location Of Loss
The site of Nichols Field is now Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
