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Herman died not where the\ need-•ed to be.It was a mistake made b\ his♦platoon leader that killed Troupe, but the tact that the bullet was fired from his gun w ill haunt Miller for .the rest of his life. Thiiteen others died that dav and 15 were wound-ed. Three rounds were fired before ,a .cease-fire was declared.- Although Miller onK knewTroupe 21 day s. he has affected his life more than any other person. Troupe's memory has prompted him to go on a journey to \ isit several old war Ruddies' graves. He traveled ’703 miles to l imestoneCounty and expects to log over3.1000 miles before he returnshome. After leaving LimestonewCountv this weekend he is headed *to Arkansas, then on to Georgia. « €Npiih Carolina and Virginia.1t’ Ihis is mv farewell tour. M+Uer said. It's time. It's time to turn loose.Miller is making the trek alone. When asked if it was because no one else understands what he has been through, he replied with deep affirmation. I couldn't have said it any better.wMiller said Troupe was a happy-go-lucky voung man. He had nev erV— * •- C.seen combat before the day he died. Miller had been in Vietnam four months already and had seen enough.Herman was a wonderful 19-vear-old man. Miller said. Hew as a joker, a clown and he was aterrible card player. He added witha laugh, his grin quickly faded to asomber expression..We were all scared to death.he said w ith a gasp.Miller was wounded badlv in•*March 1967, six months after Troupe died. He spent over nine months in a hospital in Vietnam. Miller said visiting Troupe'sgrave is a 34-year-old promise thathe made to his buddy the dav hedied. While in Timestone CountyMiller had a lengthy telephoneconv ersation w ith Troupe's brother.Ben Frank Troupe. He said theconversation was friendly.«/When I first contactedHerman's family six or seven yearsago. they were justifiably upset.Miller said. Now they seem to•/understand.Miller laid flowers on Troupe'sgrave and brought with him theVietnam Gallantry Cross medal*which was awarded to Miller's platoon after Troupe died.He deserved a lot more. Miller said. But 1 made Herman a promise that I was coming to seehim. I was affected more by*Herman than anyone else.Miller said for the past 34 years he has wondered what Troupe would have done with his life and what he could have become. But now that he has seen it. Miller wonders more about what w ill happen to Troupe's grave as the ravages of time take ov er.The cemetery, located on Airport Drive next to Calhoun Community College is in sad need of repair. The grass is knee high in areas, manv of the markers have tumbled to the ground and some of the graves are sunken below ground level.Troupe's marker, though only 34 years old, is covered in moss and the lettering is hard to read.The cemetery is not in good repair. Miller said. My left arm looks like Popeyes because I got stung about 18 times by wasps Thursday as I was cleaning up around his grave. I sent flower two years ago and they are still here.He added. I wish I had the money to put up a fence and do something to clean the place up, Miller said. “Not just for Herman, but everybody deserves dignity.”
Newspaper Details
Athens News Courier
Athens, Alabama, US
Sun, Aug 20, 2000
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Phyll S.
LA, USA 20 May 2022
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