Obituary of Milford S. Gilliam

Born in Rogersville, Tennessee on August 29, 1932, Milford and a twin brother were the last of the children of Rufus and Anna Gilliam. Milford grew up in Tennessee and the Big Stone Gap, Virginia area. He enlisted in April of 1950 and was assigned to the 37th Infantry Division – U.S. Army. He served over twenty years through the Korean Conflict Era, 12-month duty in Vietnam and many years in Military Police divisions. During this long history of service, Gil would serve in the Army reserves for brief periods and it was during this time in Dayton, Ohio that he met a tall, beautiful, brunette with a sweet and loving disposition. Her name was Alda Terrell. They met at a 50-50 dance in February of 1955 and, after much persistence, Gil convinced Alda to marry him in December of that same year. Gil remained in the Army reserves while he worked for Chrysler AirTemp in the accounting department. Alda worked there, as well. In five years, the two became three with their only child. Civilian life was not as satisfying as military service for Gil, and he returned to active duty around 1966 and remained in the Army until 1974. As a civilian, Gil was a patrolman for the Fairborn, Ohio police department and continued to pursue law enforcement and criminology. After his retirement from his final Army post at the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Command in Warren, Michigan, he was appointed by the mayor of the fourth largest city in Michigan – Warren, north of 8-Mile Road in Detroit, to the position of Police Commissioner. He held this position for five years and then returned to the Tank-Automotive Command as an Intelligence Officer. Gil was recipient of the National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Air Medal, 2 Overseas Bars, and the Bronze Star Medal. His dream for retirement was to move to Florida and get away from shoveling snow in the north. Gil and Alda retired in 1995 and moved to Melbourne, Florida where they enjoyed time spent with new friends, visiting family and friends, and their two granddaughters. Gil and Alda celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on a Disney cruise with their daughter, son-in-law and granddaughters. Gil was heartbroken when Alda passed away in 2013. He battled many health challenges and succumbed to them on September 20, 2017. Revelation 21:4 (NIV) “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Committal service will take place at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, October 13 at the Chattanooga National Cemetery, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Memorial contributions on his behalf may be made to Veterans Memorial Park of Collegedale, Tennessee (nonprofit ID#62-1860451) (P. O. Box 221, Collegedale, TN 37315, ) The Veterans Memorial Park of Collegedale was built to honor and thank our Veterans for the sacrifices they make on our nations behalf.