Zenos Ramsey Miller

Name:

Zenos Ramsey Miller

Country:

United States

Rank:

Lieutenant

Service:

United States Air Service

Units:

27^th Aero

Victories:

Born:

13 September 1895

Place of Birth:

Pao-Ting, China

Died:

22 July 1922

Place of Death:

Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA

Cemtery:

Elvaston Cemetery, Elvaston, Hancock, Illinois, USA

A Nieuport 28 pilot from Elvaston, Illinois, Zenos Ramsey Miller was the son of Rev. James Albert Miller. He joined the United States Air Service in 1917. Following training, he was assigned to the 27th Aero Squadron on 24 November 1917. While stationed at Toul, he was landing his aircraft when he accidentally decapitated a Frenchman who was cutting the grass. He also inadvertently set fire to his Nieuport, destroying it and its hangar. Scoring his first two victories on the afternoon and evening of 16 July 1918, Miller shot down an enemy balloon over Gland and later forced down a second balloon while dogfighting three Fokkers. Scoring his last two victories on the evening of 20 July 1918, Miller's five man patrol encountered seven Fokker D.VIIs near Soissons. During the fight, Miller and Lt. Fred Norton were shot down and captured while John MacArthur was killed in action. Norton died from wounds a few days later and Miller, wounded in the right arm, remained a prisoner until 29 November 1918. After the war, he enrolled at Princeton and became a doctor. Miller was killed in a crash prior to attempting a transcontinental flight in an old Savoia-Marchetti aircraft he'd purchased in 1921. He crashed near Framingham flying field outside of Framingham, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.

University of Wooster, 1917

Princeton University, 1919

The Sunday Herald, Boston, Massachusetts, Sunday, 23 July 1922, page 1

The Sunday Herald, Boston, Massachusetts, Sunday, 23 July 1922, page 8

Application for Headstone, 1932

Victories

	Date	Time	Unit	Aircraft	Opponent	Location
1	16 Jul 1918	1415	27^th		Balloon	S of Coupeils
2	16 Jul 1918	1815	27^th		Balloon	S of Le Charmel
3	19 Jul 1918	1400	27^th		Fokker D.VII	St. Rémy
4	20 Jul 1918	1930	27^th		Fokker D.VII	Braisnes
5	20 Jul 1918	1940	27^th		Fokker D.VII	Braisnes

Books

American Aces of World War 1: by Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey (Illustrator) / Paperback / Osprey Publishing (September 25, 2001)
Over the Front: by Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey / Hardcover / Grub Street the Basement (May 1992)