Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

October 27, 2010, Page 2

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon

 The Art of Highground founder Tom Miller

Tom Miller

The man who started it all can best describe The Highground?s history.

?I really began this project many years ago, in 1964, while serving in the 2^nd Bn/7^th Marines in California,? said Tom Miller.  ?This is where I met my partner, Jack Swender.  Jack was from Kansas City, KS.?

?We landed in Qui Nhon, Vietnam on the seventh of July, 1965,? explained Miller.  ?We soon set up our battalions headquarters.  It was located 15 miles west of that beautiful city in what was once an old French artillery base during the early 1950?s.  Set off the road, there were huge pits dug into the ground about five-feet deep. These pits ended up being internment camps for suspected Vietcong.?

The final day came as many came in Vietnam: gray, overcast, heavy-aired, with drizzle but very quiet,? said Miller.  ?We had slept in dirty water, five-inches deep, just as few nights before, and we were soaked to the bones.  We smelled, and we were tired to say the least.  Some small contact was made during the morning.  We had just finished lunch in a hut and were moving through a small market hamlet named Ky Phu, when the 80^th Battalion of hard-core Vietcong hit us.  We were cut into two groups with Jack and I being at the end of the first group.  We didn?t have to communicate to each other the fact that we had to hold the town from being overran by the Vietcong as they were trying to move a 50-caliber machine-gun into the middle of it.  We held them off for I would say 15-to-20 minutes before a recoilless rifle shell blew apart the rear wall of the house we were in.  I like to think, and I do believe that our action saved many Marines their lives that day, although it did cost Jack his.  I believe it is needless to say the day Jack died in my arms was the saddest day in my life. One grows to love another when they are that close.?

In late 1983, I again picked up the drive to produce our memorial,? explained Miller.  ?The mood of America had changed, and I had come in contact with a group of Vietnam Veterans (Vietnam of American ? Wisconsin Delegation).  Through them, the outstanding network needed to produce this project could be developed.  It wasn?t until late 1984 that people started to believe that I was really going to do something, and then they slowly fell into place and supported the project.?  And so it began.  The Highground will proudly display Miller?s art work at The Learning Center daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout November. 

Donations from this event will be used for PTSD literature for those individuals in the Tomah VA Hospital program.

Visit and take a walk through the new Learning Center and see a vision that became a reality.

Related Article:

Highground founder displaying art (10 Nov. 2010)