About
Archie Miles VFW 4724
VFW Post 4724
The VFW Post 4724 of Elmwood was formed in 1947; it was later renamed in honor of Archie Miles who was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The VFW is dedicated to providing comradery to fellow veterans, providing support for veterans in need of assistance, and serving the community through various fundraisers.
Archie Miles was born on September 28, 1919 in rural Elmwood. He was a graduate of Elmwood High School, class of 1937. In February of 1938, Archie and his brother, John, enlisted in the United States Navy. They served two years together in San Francisco before being assigned to new duty stations. Archie was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, shipping out to Honolulu in October of 1941.
On December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. By the end of the attack, 429 service members had perished in the attack; only 35 of them were identified. The remaining sailors were buried in Hawaii marked as “Unknown”. Miles was among the unidentified fallen soldiers and was listed missing in action. He was buried in the National Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, with the other “unknowns”.
To honor Elmwood’s first “son” to be killed in World War II, the VFW Post was renamed in honor of him. On the 65th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, a large memorial stone and bench were dedicated in his honor in the Elmwood Township Cemetery.
In 2003, the Navy began exhuming the unknown soldiers buried in Hawaii, with hopes to finally be able to identify their remains and bring closure to families. Through a series of phone calls and DNA samples, the Miles family remained hopeful they would receive answers. It wasn’t until July of 2018 when his remains would finally be identified; family received word of the news in February of 2019.
Archie Miles was finally brought home and laid to rest on May 2, 2019 with a memorial with full military rights.