by FreePeace 18 Replies latest jw friends
I heard from my mom that Harley Miller died in California -- apparently -- today. I understand he had gone there for a pacemaker, but died before he could get it.
He had an article in the WT or Awake 10 -12 years ago. Although I didn't know him, he sounded like a pretty decent fellow.
FP
That name is so familiar, was he a bethelite back in the 50s? I seem to remember him being down here with several other bethel boys back then for a weekend.
Ken P.
Hey Ken,
was he a bethelite back in the 50s?
He may have been. As I understood it, Harley was a behind the scenes heavy weight. I'm surprised more people don't know if him.
I'll try to find out some more details.
FP
HARLEY MILLER LIFE STORY IN WT
Long Post
*** w83 11/15 13-18 I Will Learn War No More ***
My parents were hardworking German people who believed in religion and education. Thus I was baptized and raised in the Lutheran faith. By the spring of 1939 I had finished school. My parents had been divorced and my father had died. What route would I now choose in life?
I had a deep appreciation for the Bible and God so I applied to attend a Lutheran seminary to become a minister. In the meantime World War II broke out in Europe and, not having heard from the seminary, in July of 1940 I joined the U.S. Navy. Thus the die was cast for a career in war rather than peace.
After preliminary training, I chose to serve in the Navy Air Force. My first overseas assignment was at an air base at Olongapo, not too far from Manila, in the Philippines. The United States was not yet involved in the war, so our missions were mainly reconnaissance of the Japanese fleet in the Pacific.
The
Japanese AttackOn December 7, 1941, I was doing weekend duty, which was a simple lone radio watchusually a time to relax. Suddenly the radio began to stammer out a startling message in Morse code: "Pearl Harbor being attacked by Japanese"! I leaped from the chair and ran for the alarm. I knew it would not be long before the Japanese would also attack the Philippines.
Sure enough, by morning light they were bombing us. Many of our planes were destroyed on the ground. Those that did make it into the sky bombed and torpedoed the Japanese warships. New crews replaced old ones as fast as the planes came in. I took my turns on these seemingly unending hazardous missions.
We fought a losing battle. The Japanese fighter planes swooped down on us with the ease of a hawk on a baby chick. Within a few days all our planes were destroyed, and out of 500 men on our base there were only about 50 left. We had to escape from the islands. So we commandeered a small French passenger liner, ran the Japanese blockade and escaped to the Dutch East Indies some 2,000 miles away.
We landed in Surabaja, in what is now called Indonesia. But the Japanese soon closed in on us, and we had to retreat to Port Darwin in Australia, where we thought we would be out of range for a while. The next thing we knew, Japanese carrier planes suddenly dropped out of nowhere and turned the harbor into a burning inferno. Some 20 ships were sunk. Ours, the Willie B. Preston, a destroyer converted to an airplane tender, was bombed and strafed with machine-gun fire until it was set ablaze. Somehow we were able to put the fires out and, under the cover of night, we limped out of the harbor and down the west coast of Australia to Fremantle.
That night the dead, many of whom were my close friends, were wrapped in canvas and weighted, and, after a few words that were of very little comfort, we let the bodies slip into the gray sea. The war had already taught me to hate the enemy. This dreadful slaughter made me feel even more bitter.
A
New Battle ZoneAfter a 30-day leave our next assignment was the Aleutian Islands, which curl away to the southwest from Alaska. We had constant missions of searching out and destroying Japanese ships.
On August 8, 1942, at the battle of Attu we were shot up and our radar was put out of commission. Heading back to the base, we hit dense fog and lost our bearings. The last thing I remember was the captains shouting, "Were going to crash!"
When I regained consciousness I could see our plane still burning. We had hit the side of a mountain and I had been thrown clear of the wreckage. The tail section had broken off on impact, and if anyone was alive it would be there. Every fiber in my body was racked with pain, but somehow I was able to crawl to the tail and there I found my closest friend still alive. He was in very critical condition. I managed to drag him from the burning wreck and then slipped into unconsciousness again.
It must have been the loud noise of the motors of the search planes swooping down over the wreckage that aroused me the next day. As the plane passed over us, I managed to wave a flight jacket and then drifted back into unconsciousness.
When I next awoke I was lying in a Navy hospital with my buddy in the bed beside me. He lived only a few days. That left me, the only survivor of a crew of nine. I had seen many men die before, but now my closest companions were all dead. I kept asking myself, But why me? Why should I survive? At this point I ceased reading the Bible and reached my lowest spiritual ebb.
A "Harp" Changed My LifeFrom Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians I was taken by Navy hospital ship to Bremerton Navy Hospital in the state of Washington. My jaws, which had been broken in several places, had not been set right, so it was necessary to rebreak and reset them. I spent about six months recuperating from my multiple injuries.
Upon my release I visited my older sister in California. One day I saw her neighbor throwing away books that looked like new. One was called Prophecy. I asked if it was about the Bible. He said, "Yes, it is, and there are others too. You can have all of them." That is how I also got The Harp of God and several other books published by the Watchtower Society.
It seemed as if my spiritual interest was rekindled. I wanted to understand the Bible better. I took the book Prophecy and read it from cover to cover but could not understand it. So I threw the books away except for The Harp of God, which I stuffed into my flight bag.
For some months I flew with a high-ranking Navy officer inspecting Navy bases on the U.S. west coast. This gave me much free time for the so-called pleasures of this life, but finally they left me feeling empty and restless. I volunteered to return to combat duty. My new squadron of fast medium bombers was sent to Saipan and Tinian in the Pacific. My assignment was to operate the radar bombing in the squadrons lead plane. Each crew flew a combat mission every couple of days, which left plenty of leisure time at the base.
One day while going through my flight bag looking for a deck of cards, I pulled out the book The Harp of God. I started to read it. To my amazement I began to understand that "hell" is the grave, that man is a soul and not immortal and that there is no Scriptural support for the Trinity doctrine. This basic understanding staggered me.
I quickly got my Bible and started looking up all the scriptures that were cited. I could hardly believe my eyes. It was all so clear and simple. I was thrilled with what I was learning. But then after thinking it over I decided to go to the Protestant and Catholic chaplains and ask them to prove to me from the Bible that hell was not the grave.
A Chaplains AdviceOf course, they could not do so. One gave me advice that I recall to this day. He said: "Miller, you have a fantastic Navy record and are highly respected. Your future is secure in the Navy. You are one of the youngest chief petty officers ever appointed. Dont make the terrible mistake of joining Jehovahs Witnesses, who do not salute the flag or fight for their country." These chaplains refused to answer any of my Bible questions, and their only response was to attack well-known Witnesses who were then dead.
Their remarks prejudiced me against Jehovahs Witnesses. However, neither of them would open the Bible to refute my newfound beliefs. I thought, Well, this is the truth. I must do what I can to help others understand it. The next day I started telling the other men what I had learned. They all thought it was quite a contrast from my former way of thinking.
Word of my preaching reached the commander, who called me into his office and said: "Miller, we have been through a lot together and in just a few days we will be going on one of our roughest duties, Iwo Jima! Now, what this preaching is all about is none of my business. But I am asking you to stop it until this mission is over." This seemed a reasonable request, so I agreed.
The Battle for Iwo JimaOn all missions a briefing was held. In order to take Iwo Jima an estimate was made of how many would die. I grew cold as I heard the number. Casualties were no longer just figures on a piece of paper but human lives.
The Japanese tried hard to hold this vital island. They had buried themselves for protection in the coral rocks all along the shore, which made it almost impossible to pry them out. There was only one sure wayfly in low and saturate the cliffs with deadly napalm bombs. When they hit, their liquid fire ran into the cracks and crevices, turning it into a burning inferno.
After some days we captured Iwo Jima and were finally able to land on the airfield. On getting out of the bomber, I saw death all around me. I walked back along the coral beach to see the results of the assault. The scene was ghastly beyond descriptioncarbonized bodies everywhere. It was devastating. I felt sick at heart.
The end result at Iwo Jima has been reported as 8,000 Americans dead and 26,000 injured. The Japanese lost 22,000 killed. All this for one 8-square-mile (20-sq-km) island!
In August 1945 the atom bombs were dropped on Japan. Within a week the Japanese surrendered, and the war was over.
First Contact With the WitnessesArriving back in the United States, I went to Portland, Oregon, to visit my family. They were bitterly opposed to my new beliefs. However, they knew Howard Meier, who was one of Jehovahs Witnesses. I immediately contacted him and challenged him on what the chaplains had told me about the Witnesses. He soon cleared up those slurs. So I started to attend the meetings at the Kingdom Hall and share in the preaching activity.
As I studied the Bibles principles on war and peace I realized I could no longer take part in military activities nor reconcile a military career with a truly Christian life. (Isaiah 2:4; Matthew 22:37-40) A decision had to be made as to what I would do, for soon I would have to report for duty.
At this time Howard Meier gave me some advice for which I will always be thankful. He said: "Spiritually you are still a babe. Rather than decide right now what is right for you, why not go back to your base, attend meetings at the nearby Kingdom Hall of Jehovahs Witnesses, and as you grow in knowledge and understanding, petition Jehovah for his guidance and direction."
I reported to the air base at Whidbey Island, Washington. I started at once to associate with the Anacortes Congregation of Jehovahs Witnesses. Soon I was preaching from house to house and advertising the public talks on the streets. In a short time I was conducting from eight to ten Bible studies on the air base.
Calls started coming into the Navy base complaining about a chief petty officer walking down the streets advertising Bible talks. I was called in by the chaplain and told in no uncertain terms to STOP this nonsense! Of course, I refused.
Arrest and Court MartialWhile preaching on the street I was arrested by the Navy police. The charges? Disgracing the Navy uniform. This action resulted in a court martial that could have meant military prison and/or dishonorable discharge. I declined the use of a Navy lawyer, as I felt I could best explain my position and my new beliefs based on the Bible.
I was brought before the Navy court-martial judges, and the charges were read. After considerable discussion and questioning of my beliefs, I was asked if I had any last words.
"Yes, I do," I said. Pointing to the American flag, I asked, "Is that flag a symbol of mockery?"
"What the . . . do you mean by that, Miller?" snapped one of the commanders as he leaped out of his chair.
"Well, gentlemen, you have my entire Navy record before you. You know that I volunteered and fought for the things that that flag stands for far beyond my duty. I believed that it stands for freedom of worship, speech and religion. I saw my friends blown up before my eyes because they also fought for those freedoms. I saw thousands lying dead in the Philippines, Australia, New Guinea, Saipan, Tinian, the Aleutians and Iwo Jima. I have had over a hundred combat missions and many hazardous patrols. I have more medals and citations than virtually any man of the thousands on this base. Are you going to deny me the very things I fought for and what the flag stands forfreedom of worship and freedom of speech?"
Total silence reigned over the entire courtroom as I sat down. The judges adjourned but soon returned with the statement that they could not make a decision on my case and it would be sent to Washington, D.C. Later the final decision came through from Washington, D.C. I was to complete my enlistment of three months and would be given duty compatible with my conscience. On July 14, 1946, I was given an honorable discharge. Now what would be the next step in my life?
From War to PeaceUnder the veterans program, I had the opportunity to attend college or university to study for the career of my choice. I turned it down. Now that I had a knowledge of the truth and the Bibles hope for everlasting peace on earth, I wanted to help others to get life. I wanted to replace the nightmare of war and killing with a life-giving work.Psalm 46:8, 9; Isaiah 9:6, 7.
I was baptized in August 1946 at the "Glad Nations" convention, Cleveland, Ohio. I returned to Anacortes and started in the full-time ministry. In 1947 I applied to serve at the Watchtower Societys world headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. I was accepted and I reported to Bethel on March 29, 1948. I worked in a variety of departments before being assigned to the Service Department. It was here that I had the privilege of working as secretary to Brother T. J. (Bud) Sullivan, who later served as a member of the Governing Body.
He was a fountain of wise counsel and experience and an example in treating others with kindness. I recall that when Bud was handling a difficult case, he would say: "If we are going to make a mistake, lets make it on the side of mercy because Jehovah is a God of mercy." What a fine point, I thought!Psalm 116:5.
In 1953 N. H. Knorr, then president of the Watchtower Society, unexpectedly appointed me as the new overseer of the Service Department. This would mean having oversight of all the ministerial activities for the United States. With Jehovahs help I fulfilled that responsibility for 22 years. Since 1975 it has been handled by a committee.
In March of 1952 a lovely young sister came to Bethel. She had been in full-time service since 1947. Her name was Brook Thornton. We fell in love and got married in May 1957. Brook has enriched my life and we have been extremely happy, working together at Bethel.
Peace Brings ChangesIn 1969 I had an experience that affected me deeply. My wife and I were privileged to attend the international "Peace on Earth" convention of Jehovahs Witnesses in Tokyo, Japan. I must admit that I had mixed feelings about visiting Japan. It is very difficult to erase the memories of war. Even though I had accepted the Bibles teaching, I wondered how I would react in Japan.
Our few days in that country were a revelation to me! I found myself face to face with a kind, humble, peaceable people who now hated war even as I did. They, too, had changed during the years since 1945. I was deeply impressed.
Ill Health StrikesIn 1979 I had a stroke that left me partially blind and with heart problems. Then in 1981 I became crippled due to a ruptured disc. These setbacks, although hard to take, have taught me even more the importance of understanding other peoples problems and circumstances.
I am no longer able to do what I used to do. I have a shorter working day but still have the privilege of serving as a member of the Service Department Committee. I have seen the number of active publishers in the United States grow from some 66,000 in 1946 to over 640,000 in 1983. All of these, like myself, are working for peace under Gods Kingdom. To my great joy, one of those baptized in 1975 was my mother. Although 86, she is still preaching.
Now I yearn for the day, soon at hand, when Jehovah God will bring about his righteous New Order where wars, pain and death will never be again. The Bible states: "There are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise [Gods own sure word], and in these righteousness is to dwell." (2 Peter 3:13) It is my earnest desire to have a part in that "new earth" and to forget forever the horrors of the war in which I shared.
the following two comments were made about harley Miller
As I understood it, Harley was a behind the scenes heavy weight. I'm surprised more people don't know if him.
Behind the scene heavyweight is AN UNDERSTATEMENT- I was first introduced to him when my roommate and i were assigned to the Towers building as new boys since we got kicked out of our old room due to room bids, well they didn't have anywhere to put us so they put us over on the 10th floor of towers, we had dan sydlick, ralph walls and yes Harley Miller and his wife i think her name was pat- anyway we hated living over there cause at 9pm it was quiet as a mouse on that floor could not have parties and you didn't want to get caught having over a ton of sisters on the weekend for little get togethers like you could in the singles man building the 107 building-
anyway Harley use to keep us up late at night pecking on that Damn typewriter, you see harly had like a bad leg so he never went down the hill to 25 columbia ht office complex- they brought his work to him and many of nights we would listen to him and Sam Buck stand at his door and talk about org biz- anyway he was what i thought at the time a pretty cool dude, he had this DIAMOND CRUSTED CANE it looked like something from Africa that had diamonds set into it and he used it to walk with- we like his wife she was so nice, but kinda weird, later on i found out she had a drinking problem- and being at bethel didn't help here, one of the sisters in my hall was a housekeeper and she always had the lastest JUICE on folks- but i felt sorry for his wife- inside thier little room she tried to make it into a home but how much can you do with a 20x20 as it were.
there is a guy who post on this site who is a former bethelite who personally knows harley like the back of your hand and we have spoken many times- and he can tell some stories-
Although I didn't know him, he sounded like a pretty decent fellow
well for those who know him they will tell you a different story- he was in charge for years with CO and DO assignments, which meant if you pissed him off you got sent to "Siberia"- smile
he sent his buddies to the fluent circuits, parts of FL, and CA, and for the CO he didnt;' like he sent them to North Dokata, etc smile
yes he was a very powerful man and was indeed BEHIND THE SCENES--who created and was behind many of the policies that have impacted the lives of so many of us here
I also found out he had BIG BUCKS (esp for a bethelite) ALLOW ME TO SHARE THIS PERSONAL EXP
one day a new housekeep put his mail in our room by mistake and when i got home i saw these envelopes from SMITH AND BARNEY AND AT that time E F HUTTON THEY WERE QUARTERLY STATEMENTS----------- NOT JUKE MAIL
later on i learned that while many of us got in trouble for "G-Jobbing" ( i will explain that later) he was allowed to run a BIZ right out of bethel- talk about double standards
My roomate worked in the 25 col ht building and one day he was down in the garage and saw some new boys washing some of the socieity's cars and they were washing this BMW yes "The Ultimate Tanning Machine" and who did it belong to yep old Harley--
in that stack of letters there was a letter from 1600 PENN AVE wash , dc it had the offficial white house seal - reagan was in office at the time-
i do know that you can write the white house and they will send out a form letter for birthdays , long time wedding annervisary , etc, but just the thought of a bethelite getting something from the white house well you know
so MILLER was the Ultimate SOCIETY MAN
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ G-JOBBING##############
What is G-JOBBING___
It is called Government work- it refers to GOV employees being lazy and just getting a check
well it has to do with bethelites being too lazy to go out and get a real job so we do side jobs to make money while at bethel
and you can make alot if you are in the right "Trade" electrician, plumber, tile setter, roofer, etc and it is all tax free
the Congo in NYC would pay you to work on their halls since most jw in NY are white collar and not tradesmen
we even did work for NONJW- using WT tools , supplies and Trucks and since it was always at COST it was cheap --can you imagine what it would cost to rent a FLATBED truck in NYC to hall Dry wall 2 blocks- smile
all you needed to do was to get the guys who worked in that dept to requisition it under their name- they didn't even need to be there , but they would get their cut- lot of Elders headed up these work teams
so we would use the buying power of the Society to get these supplies for halls and bro in there home many times
some guys were clearing $3,000 a month tax free- bethel has cracked down on it by requiring you to sign a VOW OF POVERTY which is a form from the IRS saying you will not do any side jobs-
also the waiters did lots of G-JOBBING if anyone has been to bethel for lunch they are always impressed with how over 6000, folks can be served in less than 20min- well this is were the waiters come in at
folk like to use the bethelites at thier weddings to serve their guest
and if you are talking references just watch the mothers and fathers who have daugthers getting married in a few weeks come up to you afterward and ask you to do thier kids wedding
so the money rolls in beside everyone figures who BETTER TO HELP THAN THE LOWLY BETHELITES
smile
the BREAKER was some guys did a job and the person filed for it on his taxes --of course the IRS wants to know who do we get our money from
well I'd be Damn-- if it ain't some guys who is suppose to be living off $90.00 a month smile
so the society got involved and shut down most of the best money making jobs-
from what I understand you can still do it but you have to go through a lot of hoops
so many guys were missing meetings on the weekend and wiped out on Monday that flags started going up- we had this old nurse Called Sophie ----all my god she would worry you to death if you called in sick on a MONDAY were you out late Sunday night- what time did you get in, etc
old bag man
we had a plumbing job that was bidded out by a Congo in Queens with UNION NYC plumbers that was for $32,000, $36,000 and there was another bid price
so the elders asked the bethelites could we do it- it was a complete job from the street to the inside of the hall to toilets and sinks and tile job
well we could not ask for a set price but only tell the elders WHATEVER YOU BROTHERS WANTED TO GIVE US
well they presented it to the Congo and they came back with $25,000 offer and it would be just 5 of us and they would supply all the manual labor through the local bros.
we are talking $5,000 a piece - no taxes -in a weekend baby with a few follow up days to clean up any leftovers
one of the guys was a MASTER PLUMBER SO HE always got the permits we needed from the city- due to the large amount we got cold feet so we talked with Ralph Walls about it and he told us we needed to consider how would it look with that sum of cash in 2days of work- where in fact it would have been no work at all since we would have merely been overseeing the local guys doing all the digging of the trenches SMILE HEY YOU GOT TO LOVE IT MAN
so we turned it down- DAMN I SHOULD HAVE DONE IT
there is one guy and some of the bethelites on the net know this guy he ran the ROOFING DEPT as the overseer and was (REMOVED FROM THAT JOB FOR THIS REASON) and since all the roofs in NYC on the halls are flat--they are always leaking due to water standing on them
well he would take SOME OF his crew and knock out a roof over a weekend and man he was clocking over 3K amonth, not bad considering you don't have any expenses
but the most famous G -JOBBER OF ALL TIME WAS a bro from out of Texas if I'm correct- any bethelites here will correct me if I'm wrong on the state he is from
any way his name was James (JIM) Spencer he was the photography overseer and he had access to the society's $Million dollar cameras and film and processing equipment and he used to shoot WEDDINGS ON THE WEEKEND- hey like I said YOU GOT TO LOVE IT
NOW CK THIS OUT I had a buddy who was in on the deal-- he worked at the Stanley theater- that is the most expensive assembly hall in the wt arsenal of assembly hall probably
you all know it --the million dollar chandelier- anyway one of my boys was assigned as a keeper when they used bethelites---- now they have a pioneer couple over there --old Ricketts and he is a LITTLE HUSTLER as well
anyway Jim would arrange to use the assembly hall to take couples pictures
and I tell you-- to have your wife coming down the GRAND STAIRCASE IN HER GOWN hey man we are talking GONE WITH THE WIND TYPE STUFF
well my boy could have folks over to the assembly hall after hours as long as they were his guests
man he didn't even know some of the couples
so Spencer would kick him a little "SOMETHING -SOMETHING" SMILE
anyway old Spencer got caught not reimbursing the Society for the equipment and since he was the Overseer of the dept no one really questioned what he was working on late at night
hey it was not your latest mag cover shot- smile
so the "Shit hit the fan" and my man was BUSTED DOWN FROM PHOTO OVERSEER
to working the Bindery lines in the leather gold bible section
it was so embarrassing cause about a month after he got SHAFTED we had an Open tour of the factory were the office guys and the home guys could come over to the factory and see how the book and mags are made
and you guessed it ---my man James Spencer is right on the tour route and all the office guys are walking through laughing their a$$ off at him sitting there sweating with a tee shirt and blue jeans on.
his roommate was Robbie Vela from Hawaii the big island ---he worked upstairs in the bindery on the hardback line and he told us that Spencer would come home from work when he worked in photo dept and there would be TICKETS FOR him to fly to Japan or Rome or anywhere in the world just to take a couple of rolls of film and fly back
man we are talking about living the good life- he flew almost as much as the guys with UPI or AP wire guys
single man living the life and since he was the PO in his hall up in the Bronx he had the best of both worlds in the local hall and at the big house
from what I understand HE MADE A KILLING
well it is now bed time and no more bethel stories until later
smile
James
PS this is the last one it's too good to let pass
now i earned my money when i was at bethel others don't
as you all know by now the spokesman for the wt is a guy named JR Brown as a black man we use to call the the Society's Louis Farrakan
the most powerful speaker every to Grace a wt mike esp in the black community
well anyway he is ACES with larry Graham and larry is always hooking him up along with 1000's of his fans
anyway when he bought his new car alot of the Heavies and i don't mean to get racial,but some of the White boys were not happy
As they would say in the black Hood ""This Negro went out and bought a $45,000 car"
my man drives a top of the line fully loaded "Q45"
now go figure how you and i can do that off $90.00 a month
YOU TO TO LOVE IT
JT,
Sorry to hear about Harley. His wife's name is "Brook".
Cheers,
Rational
Brooke
Outaservice
His wife seemed pretty unhappy at Bethel to me. I remember when he had a Volvo sportscar
(2 seater). Sad, how Christianity turned into cronyism for these guys.
metatron
Harley and Brooke lived right next door to me in the 107 building circa 1979, must have been before he got to the Towers. He was always using the hall phone to talk to someone. We all knew his wife drank a lot, and you almost NEVER saw her. Yes, he was one of the true blood cronies like Rutherford and Knorr.
Randy Watters
the Bethel pages!
Dogpatch, Meta..
I remember Harley... one tough hombre, a Knorr favorite, real behind-the-scenes heavyweight hatchetman, head of the Service Department; almost sinister in aspect and feared more than respected, especially by Circuit and District overseers he moved around like pawns. . As bad as he was, it seems that Jaracz is worse.
His wife's problem with alcohol was fairly common knowledge, and the prevalence of this affliction among Bethel long-timers, man and woman alike, is another piece of Bethel's dirty little secrets which the rank and file refuse to believe.
Though I bear him no malice, nor will I shed a tear; they're reserved for Brooke.
