FORT JACKSON, S.C. -- When Spc. Amaryillis Miller steps off Hilton Field today following graduation she will be fulfilling a family tradition of serving the country.
Miller, who will graduate with Company E, 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment, is the fourth sister to become a Soldier.
"I decided to join the Army so I can provide a better life for me and my family," said Miller, 37. "We are a very patriotic family. I am the second oldest sister, but the last one to come in the Army."
Theresa Miller, who enlisted in the Army in 1992, said all four sisters joined the Army as a direct result of their father, retired Sgt. Maj. James Miller. The family's combined years of service total 117.
"We have all been in the military and now our sister, Spc. Miller, is finally the last of the four girls to go in," said Theresa Miller, who currently works on Fort Jackson. "This is a tribute to our father that we have followed in his footsteps. I am glad for (my sister) finally waking up and seeing that the military runs deep in our blood."
Amaryillis Miller, who will go on to Advanced Individual Training to become a motor transport operator, said her father played a major factor in deciding to choose the Army path.
"I am following the family tradition started by my dad," she said. "Basic Combat Training has been a challenge, but a good challenge because I had my family behind me to motivate me."
Amaryillis Miller, who has a master's degree in psychology, hopes to eventually become a mental health specialist in the Army sometime in the future.
"I look forward to making a career out of the military, like my dad and my sisters," she said. "I want to continue that proud tradition of being a Soldier."
The other two sisters, Dianna Adams, who retired, and Faith Lajoy Newman, have a combined 34 years of service in the Army.
"I am so proud to have all four of my daughters to have served in the Army," James Miller said. "It was not forced upon them. They all made their individual decisions to go in."
James Miller, who is currently a junior ROTC instructor at Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School in Columbia, retired after more than 30 years of service in the Army.
After completion of Basic Combat Training and Airborne school, he was assigned to a tour of duty in Vietnam. During his tour, he was wounded twice - receiving two Purple Hearts - and was promoted from corporal to staff sergeant within one month. He was then assigned as a drill sergeant at Fort Jackson.
"I've never had any hesitation about my girls joining the Army. I went in during Vietnam, so I knew they would be OK," he said. "The Army has been good to our family."
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