The earliest years in Vern Miller's biography remains unclear. It is reported that he was born in Kimball, South Dakota in 1896. Not much is known about his early years, but he was a resident of Huron, South Dakota by 1914. His life appears ordinary and free of any actions that might predict a future of criminal behavior. He enlists in the U.S. Army and serves with honor in World War I and is decorated for his battlefield conduct in France.
After the WWI, Miller returned to Huron in South Dakota. There he served on the police force for about three years and was later elected sheriff of the Beadle County. This was in 1920 and he and he only served as Sheriff for a short time. By 1922 he is a criminal for sure. He steals about four thousand dollars of public funds and skipped town. Some say that this crime was sparked by the fact that his wife had been hospitalized. Others claim that this was his first crime for crime's sake.
Vern Miller was arrested in 1923 and served time in prison where it is said he was a model prisoner. He even became a confidant of the warden. He was released in 1925. It seems that Miller could not resist getting back to crime. In St Paul, Minnesota he got involved in bootlegging business during prohibition. It is said that it was during this time that Miller left his wife or a permanent girlfriend, Vi Mathis of Leola, South Dakota. Miller used both drugs and alcohol to excess. By 1932 he was sought by police for the murder of two Minneapolis policemen.
Three law enforcement officers and an associate of Miller's were all killed in 1933 in an event that became known as "The Kansas City Massacre". Miller becomes the most wanted criminal in the country. The Kansas city massacre was a huge shootout at the Union Railroad Station. Miller was executed within a year. It took place in Illinois in a corn field.
The efforts of J. Edgar Hoover created in the FBI as we know it today. Miller's actions were not the only impetus behind expansion of federal law enforcement efforts, but they were a vital ingredient. It was, after all, the Kansas City incident that enabled Hoover to raise funding to modernized federal law enforcement agencies.
Miller' name never reached the legendary status of others: Baby Face Nelson, Ma Barker, Machine Gun Kelly, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie and Clyde, had names that easily remained in the public's memory. "Vern Miller" is a name that seems too common, too pedestrian.
Vern Miller was however ruthless and violent just like some of those more famous criminals.
After the WWI, Miller returned to Huron in South Dakota. There he served on the police force for about three years and was later elected sheriff of the Beadle County. This was in 1920 and he and he only served as Sheriff for a short time. By 1922 he is a criminal for sure. He steals about four thousand dollars of public funds and skipped town. Some say that this crime was sparked by the fact that his wife had been hospitalized. Others claim that this was his first crime for crime's sake.
Vern Miller was arrested in 1923 and served time in prison where it is said he was a model prisoner. He even became a confidant of the warden. He was released in 1925. It seems that Miller could not resist getting back to crime. In St Paul, Minnesota he got involved in bootlegging business during prohibition. It is said that it was during this time that Miller left his wife or a permanent girlfriend, Vi Mathis of Leola, South Dakota. Miller used both drugs and alcohol to excess. By 1932 he was sought by police for the murder of two Minneapolis policemen.
Three law enforcement officers and an associate of Miller's were all killed in 1933 in an event that became known as "The Kansas City Massacre". Miller becomes the most wanted criminal in the country. The Kansas city massacre was a huge shootout at the Union Railroad Station. Miller was executed within a year. It took place in Illinois in a corn field.
The efforts of J. Edgar Hoover created in the FBI as we know it today. Miller's actions were not the only impetus behind expansion of federal law enforcement efforts, but they were a vital ingredient. It was, after all, the Kansas City incident that enabled Hoover to raise funding to modernized federal law enforcement agencies.
Miller' name never reached the legendary status of others: Baby Face Nelson, Ma Barker, Machine Gun Kelly, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie and Clyde, had names that easily remained in the public's memory. "Vern Miller" is a name that seems too common, too pedestrian.
Vern Miller was however ruthless and violent just like some of those more famous criminals.
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If you would like to find out more about Vern Miller, then just visit Jan Vogel's site the history of the Upper Midwestvisit Jan's site.
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