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P/SUNNY Temp: 50 °F Wind: WSW at 8 mph Tuesday, April 1, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend March 28, 2003 Cobra pilots whack tanks By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Medford residents Ellen and Bill Miller heaved a sigh of relief just before noon Thursday. That’s when they received an e-mail from their son, Capt. Todd M. Miller, a Cobra attack helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps. A 1986 graduate of Medford Senior High School, Miller, 33, had just returned from a three-day mission deep in Iraq. He indicated he would have sent a message earlier but had to stay at a forward refueling site because of the storm that hit Iraq earlier in the week. "If you saw the news on the ambush at An Nasiriyah, the three Cobras that showed up at sunrise and whacked the three Iraqi tanks was us," he wrote of the Marine's Cobra Squadron HMLA-267. "We had been flying all night and were just about ready to go home when the immediate mission came to us because we were the closest," he added. "All of us felt like we really contributed after that one." Miller apparently was referring to the battle in which Iraqi soldiers in civilian clothes opened fire on the Americans after indicating they were surrendering. "Not sure how much longer this thing is going to take, but we have gone far in this short period of time," he wrote, then concluded, "I'll have more stories for you later." He had not yet unpacked his bags from his third deployment aboard the USS Belleau Wood on Dec. 15 when his squadron received orders to report to the USS Dubuque, an amphibious assault ship departing Jan. 9, according to his mother. The family had planned a ski week at Whistler in British Columbia for Jan. 11 but he was unable to go, she said. In the Rogue Valley, their son’s first love was skiing, followed by whitewater rafting on the Rogue, Middle Fork of the Salmon and other major Northwest rivers, his mother said. Before graduating with a degree in business administration from Oregon State University, he served as a whitewater guide. "We are very proud of all the great support the Rogue Valley has produced and are looking forward to the wrap-up of Iraq," Ellen Miller said. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S