USS Miller ( DD - 535 ) USS " Miller " ( DD - 535 ) was a World War II - era in the service of the United States Navy , named after Medal of Honor recipient Acting Master ' s Mate James Miller . " Miller " was laid down 18 August 1942 by Bethlehem Steel Co . , San Francisco , California ; launched 15 February 1943 ; sponsored by Mr . William P . Upshur ; and commissioned 31 August 1943 , Commander T . H . Kolberg in command . 1944 . " Miller " , assigned to the Pacific in Destroyer Squadron 52 ( DesRon 52 ) throughout her World War II service , departed 20 November 1943 , for Pearl Harbor . There she conducted exercises until 22 January 1944 , interrupted by an escort mission to Makin . On the 23rd she got underway and sailed west with Task Force 51 ( TF 51 ) . For the next month she provided screening and gunfire support services as that force assaulted and occupied Kwajalein and Eniwetok . She departed the latter 24 February for Majuro where she joined the Fast Carrier Task Force ( then 5th Fleet ' s TF 58 , later 3rd Fleet ' s TF 38 ) , with which she operated for the remainder of the war . On 22 March the aircraft carrier s , supported by battleship s and cruiser s , and screened by a ring of destroyers , departed Majuro with " Miller " in the outer ring of steel . Completing strikes at Palau , Yap , Ulithi , and Woleai ( 29 March – 1 April ) they returned briefly to Majuro and then headed for New Guinea where they supported Army assault forces with raids on Hollandia , Wakde , Sewar , and Sarmi ( 21 April – 22 April ) and then raided Truk , Satawan , and Ponape ( 29 April – 1 May ) . Next the force hit Marcus and Wake Islands ( 19 May – 23 May ) and then prepared for the Marianas campaign . On 6 June the carrier force sortied from Majuro again . From the 11th through the 17th its planes and ships ranged from the Volcano and Bonin Islands to the southernmost Marianas , supporting the assault on Saipan and preventing Japan ese reinforcements from reaching that beleaguered island and the next target , Guam . On the 17th , after screening the carriers during flight operations for strikes against Saipan , Tinian , Rota , and Guam , " Miller " received word of a Japanese Fleet approaching from the Philippines . On the 18th she continued to cover the assault forces on Saipan while waiting for the expected engagement . On the 19th she was on the starboard quarter of as enemy dive bombers opened the Battle of the Philippine Sea . Throughout the 2 - day battle , which tore the muscle from the Japanese naval air arm , she remained in that carrier ' s screen , splashing one enemy plane and damaging another . After brief upkeep at Eniwetok , " Miller " got underway to rendezvous with the remainder of the task force for further strikes on Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima ( 3 – 4 July ) and Palau , Ulithi , and Yap ( 23 – 27 July ) . On 30 August the force sailed to support the landings in the Palaus by conducting raids against Palau , Mindanao , Leyte , Luzon , and Samar ( 7 – 24 September ) . In October , operating from Ulithi , the task force prepared for the return to the Philippines with strikes on enemy installations in shipping in the Ryūkyūs , on Taiwan , and in the South China Sea . On the 20th , it commenced support of amphibious operations on Leyte and Samar . Five days later " Miller " joined the screen of Task Group 34 . 5 ( TG 34 . 5 ) , then operating with TG 38 . 2 . The two groups then sailed to assist TF 77 which had engaged an enemy force in Surigao Strait in an opening phase of the epic Battle of Leyte Gulf . Shortly after midnight , while patrolling the waters at the eastern end of San Bernardino Strait , TG 34 . 5 sighted an enemy destroyer . After several exchanges of gunfire , " Miller " and closed in to finish off the target , accomplishing their missions in under 20 minutes . " Miller " then rejoined TF 38 which had resumed air operations against the Philippines . The force raided air installations on Luzon , Leyte , and Samar into November , receiving , on the 19th , its first taste of a new Japanese tactic , the kamikaze . Six days later several of the suicide planes broke through the screen of planes and destroyers to score hits on the carriers , , and . With slight damage , except to " Intrepid " , the force retired to Ulithi . Thence the force sortied , 11 December , to support amphibious operations on Mindoro , and keep Japanese air forces pinned to the ground . Next came strikes on Taiwan , followed by another return to the Philippines to support amphibious operations , this time in Lingayen Gulf . 1945 . After the Luzon landings , the force stepped up its sorties into the South and East China Seas . It struck repeatedly at enemy installations from Saigon to the Ryukyus and frequently sailed northeast to raid the industrial heart of the Japanese Islands . On 19 – 21 February 1945 they supported the invasion of Iwo Jima and then steamed west again towards Tokyo . By 1 March they had begun an intensified raiding campaign against the Ryukyus and Japan , again preparing the way for an invasion force . " Miller " , participating in these raids on Okinawa , Kyūshū , and Honshū , was near when an enemy dive bomber penetrated the screen to drop several 500 - pound bombs on the carrier , 19 March . The destroyer went alongside to aid in the rescue and firefighting operations and then covered the carrier ' s withdrawal , for which actions she was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation . " Miller " rejoined the fast carriers 8 April as they provided air cover for ground forces embattled on Okinawa . Into June she screened the carriers and rescued downed pilots as the force struck at military and industrial concentrations from the southern Ryukus to Kyūshū . On the 20th , she was detached from TF 38 and ordered back to the United States for navy yard availability . She arrived at Mare Island Naval Shipyard , 9 July , and was still moored there when the war ended . 1945 – 1964 . On 19 December 1945 " Miller " decommissioned and joined the Reserve Fleet at San Diego , California . She remained there until 19 May 1951 , when she recommissioned and joined the Atlantic Fleet with Newport , Rhode Island as her homeport . On 6 September 1952 the destroyer departed the East Coast for Korea and a round - the - world cruise . Arriving at Sasebo , Japan , 11 October , she got underway for gunfire support and interdiction fire duty with TF 95 off the Korean coast . Remaining on station in the combat area almost continuously until February 1953 , " Miller " also served with TF 77 screening carriers as they conducted air operations against North Korean ground forces . On 11 February she departed for hme , via the Mediterranean . After her return to Newport she resumed operations along the East Coast with periodic deployment in the Mediterranean . In 1958 , while serving with the 6th Fleet . she participated in that fleet ' s swift response to the request of President Camille Chamoun of Lebanon for tangible aid to prevent a threatened coup d ’ etat . In 1959 " Miller " was detached from service with the active fleet and reported for Naval Reserve training duty at Boston 9 March . As a training ship she conducted cruises for more than 11 , 000 reservists before 30 March 1964 when she sailed for Norfolk , Virginia . There , on 30 June , she decommissioned and reentered the Reserve Fleet . " Miller " was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 December 1974 . She was sold 31 July 1975 and broken up for scrap .