May 25, 2011:  The Bronxville Memorial Day Committee is proud to announce the selection of our 89th Grand Marshal, Arthur Miller, WWII veteran and lifelong Village resident.

Art is a graduate of the Trinity Pawling School, where he was first touched by the implications of a world war.  One of Art's friends was called out of English class to be told that his brother had died at Pearl Harbor.

Art went on to enroll at Duke University, but his studies were cut short when he received his draft notice.  His military service then led him to training in Miami Beach, Biloxi, Mississippi, and then on to Houghton, Michigan, where he received Piper Cub training.

During a West Coast sojourn, Art met Bette Davis at a USO event at the famed Stage Door Canteen in Hollywood.  Art completed his training in Deming, New Mexico, receiving his wings and a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant.  He had mastered the bombing site program and became a bombardier on the B-17, or America's Flying Fortress.

Then it was off to Lincoln, Nebraska, where Art would meet up with his B-17 crew mates and start their trip to England via Labrador, Iceland, and Greenland.

Assigned to the Eighth Air Force 486th Wing, Art flew 30 combat missions over Germany targeting factories and fuel depots.  Flying at 25,000 to 30,000 feet, the plane always encountered resistance.  On one mission, a piece of flak landed in Art's lap, a souvenir he has to this day.  On another mission, Art remembers that the copilot was wounded, so the plane's navigator simply moved to the copilot seat.  There were always holes in the fuselage upon their return to base, but Art believed the power greater than he was protecting them.

After Art completed thirty missions, he returned home and was in Times Square on VE Day.  Subsequently he was sent to California and had the good fortune to be in Hollywood on VJ Day.  By war's end, Art's decorations and citations included the Air Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters, European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Two Bronze Stars, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the World War II Victory Medal.

Art returned to Duke post service and completed his education.  He then came home for good to Bronxville and started his real estate firm, Arthur Miller Real Estate, which ultimately merged with Houlihan Lawrence.  Art continues to go to his office at 89 Pondfield Road every day.

Just as he served his country with distinction, Art served our Village so capably in many capacities.  He was a board member of our Chamber of Commerce, the Community Fund, and Siwanoy Country Club, and he served on numerous committees at the Reformed Church.  Art is also one of our Rotary Club's most longstanding members and served proudly as its president.

Art raised his son and  two daughters in Bronxville with his late wife, Nancy Van Wyck Miller, and he continues to live in our Village today.  Like so many of his generation, Art never boasted of his service and valor, rather continuing to live a life of honor and service to his country, his Village, and his family.  Arthur Miller truly is a hero among us.

If you want to learn more about Art's military accomplishments as well as those of many other valiant Villagers, please come to Bronxville's own Veterans Memorial.  Displayed in past years at the Bronxville Women's Club, this will be the first year it will be exhibited in the Bronxville Elementary School (multipurpose room (formerly the elementary school auditorium), Midland Avenue entrance) during the Memorial Day weekend.  Hours are Saturday, May 28, from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, and Monday the 30th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.  On Friday and Tuesday bracketing the weekend, all of the Bronxville School students from grade 4 upwards will visit the exhibit with their teachers.

Jane Staunton, a Village resident, has worked tirelessly over the last three years to create this moving exhibit, which honors local men and women who have served or are currently serving our country in the armed forces.  The exhibit includes the Scroll of Honor, which lists over 1,500 Bronxville residents, past and present, who have been in the military.

Also included is the "Hero Next Door" exhibit, featuring a collection of the personal stories of more than 70 Bronxville, Eastchester, and Tuckahoe residents who died in service of our country; war photos and memorabilia from local residents' archives; newspapers from World War II; and a collection of vintage American flags dating back to the Revolutionary War.

So please join us all on Monday, May 30, at 9:00 am for the 89th annual Village parade and commemoration on the school lawn as we honor local hero Arthur Miller and all of the men and women who have answered the call to service in defense of our country.