Ezekiel Clifton Miller
First Lieutenant Ezekiel C. Miller was a Marine pilot with VMF-218.
He was reported missing in action after a mission to Tobera, Rabaul area, on 3 February 1944.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number O-24669
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
January 26, 1923
at El Dorado, AR
Parents
Joseph Wilson Miller (d. 1925)
Nancy Elizabeth (Morgan) Miller
Education
El Dorado High School (1941)
Occupation & Employer
National Geophysical Company
Service Life
Entered Service
June 12, 1943 (officer)
Home Of Record
822 West 2nd Street
El Dorado, AR
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Nancy Miller
Military Specialty
Pilot
Primary Unit
VMF-218
Campaigns Served
Northern Solomons
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
On 3 February 1944, took off from Piva North Airfield in F4U-1 #55938 to provide fighter cover for a bomber strike on Tobera Airfield near Rabaul. The war diary of VMTB-233, one of the bombing squadrons making the attack, reported “meager and inaccurate” anti-aircraft fire, and only one Japanese fighter attempting to attack their formation. However, the strike cost the lives of two pilots from VMF-218.
First Lieutenant Miller encountered some Japanese pilots willing to fight, and found himself in their gunsights. His Corsair “burst into flames from the main gas tanks” after a dogfight, and Miller “was last seen with the hatch closed as he went through cloud cover.” He was posted as missing in action following the mission, and eventually declared dead on 4 February 1945.
Burial Information or Disposition
None; remains not recovered.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Nancy Miller.
Location Of Loss
Miller was last seen in combat near Tobera airfield.
