Rich E Miller, 76, of Terry, Mont., died suddenly June 13, 2025. Rich, a father, grandfather and great-grandfather, was born in Wolf Point, Mont., on Nov. 18, 1948, to Lynn and Thelma (Wilson) Miller. Rich grew up in Wolf Point, graduating from high school there in 1966. Soon afterward, Rich enlisted in the U.S. Army. After training in helicopter maintenance at Fort Eustis, Va., he deployed to Vietnam soon after Christmas that year. Assigned to the 498th Medical Air Ambulance Company, Rich served as a crew chief, earning a Bronze Star with “V” device, the Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze stars, and the Air Medal with “V” device and four oakleaf clusters. In September 2024, Congress and the president awarded a Gold Medal to “Dustoff” pilots, crew chiefs, and medics who “served honorably during the Vietnam War aboard helicopter air ambulances.” Rich returned stateside in January 1968, serving out the remainder of his enlistment at Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia. There, he met and married Sharon Brown. Although the union did not last, it did result in the birth of their beloved daughter, Nicole Hope. Leaving the Army in 1969, Rich returned to Montana and attended the University of Montana, earning a BA in political science in 1973. Rich and Sharon then returned to Georgia, where daughter Nicole was born in May 1973. Rich worked for the Southern Railway until 1975, returning to Montana to assist in the family business, Lynn’s Bar in Helena, later that year. He began a long association with the Montana gaming industry in 1982, eventually becoming executive director of Montana’s Gaming Industry Association (GIA). Rich enjoyed a broad array of experiences. As a teenager, he helped farm for an uncle and a future Montana governor. Along with the G.I. Bill, work as a surveyor got him through college. He once even worked