French Woman Searching for Information on American Grandfather with Ties to Prince William, Stafford
If you know anything about WW II veteran Vivian Miller, who lived in Aquia, died in 1978, and is buried in Fredericksburg, his granddaughter would love to hear it.
By David Kerr
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It’s a detective story, a search for a lost grandfather and an endearing story of commitment and perseverance.
Florence Locheron lives in Reims, France, in the Champagne region. It already sounds lovely. World War II buffs will know this as the town where, in a little schoolhouse, German forces officially surrendered to Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1945, ending the war in Europe.
Florence, an advertising project manager, is on something of a quest. One that remarkably ties her family and France, through her grandfather, an American soldier in World War II, to Prince William and Stafford counties.
The focus of her search, which began after some impressive DNA sleuthing on Florence’s part, is a man named Vivian Miller. And the evidence strongly points to Vivian as being Florence’s grandfather. He was born in Joplin in 1922. That’s in Prince William, near Triangle.
During World War II, Vivian Miller served with the 3523rd Ordnance Medium Automotive Maintenance Company. After the war, in 1950, he was living in the Aquia area of Stafford County. He passed away in 1978 and is buried in Fredericksburg.
That’s where the mystery and the search begins.
Vivian didn’t know about his French offspring. He was in a serious relationship with Florence’s grandmother—he was stationed near her home and asked her to return to the United States with him, but she declined. All indications are that she never told him that she was pregnant.
The details of Vivian Miller’s life are a little sketchy. We have dates and service records, but Florence is looking for something personal. So given Vivian’s ties to our area, through her grandfather, we thought we would try to help Florence fill in some of the missing pieces.
Vivian Miller also had a daughter here in Virginia. Her name was Shirley Miller Bland, but she died in 2021. She lived in Prince William and Bowling Green. There aren’t many details about her life either, although Florence did track down someone who knew her. Through that contact, she obtained a picture of Vivian Miller in uniform back in World War II. That was quite a find. But there, again, the trail grows cold. Alas, Shirley Miller Bland had no children.
Florence is trying to find some personal connections to her late grandfather. Where did he work? Does she have any cousins in the area? Does anyone remember Vivian Miller—maybe a neighbor, a relation, a coworker or a friend?
Florence has painstakingly pursued this search for over two years. When asked whether she ever thought about giving up, her answer was an emphatic “never.” She pursued every avenue: military service records, Masonic lodge records and census data. They all got her a step closer, but never quite got to the point of revealing the personal side of Vivian Miller.
Florence never knew her American grandfather, but thanks to some amazing detective work and incredible persistence she could be very close to learning more about him—and equally as important learning something about his American family.
Can you help us find some insights on Vivian Miller? Even if he was just a long-ago neighbor, a lodge brother, a coworker or a casual friend, anything would be helpful. And if by some chance you are a relative of Vivian Miller, that would be amazing. Florence just wants to know some more about Vivian. Was he a baseball or football fan? Did he have a passion for hunting or fishing? Did he play cards or checkers?
These are all open questions, and if you can shed some light on them—anything at all—please email me at DavidKerr1900@gmail.com and we’ll share them with Florence.
David Kerr is a Stafford resident and an adjunct professor of political science at VCU. He worked on Capitol Hill and for various federal agencies for many years.
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