Part 4/7:
Military Service and Final Days
Eager to serve, Miller enlisted in the Army. Though initial drafts overlooked married men like him, he leveraged his musical expertise to uplift troops. By May 1944, General Dwight D. Eisenhower personally requested Miller to support American forces in Europe, aiming to bolster soldier morale through music.
Tragically, Glenn Miller's life took a fateful turn. On December 15, 1944, while on his way to Paris, his plane vanished after taking off from RAF Twinwood Farm. He, along with the pilot and Lieutenant Colonel Norman Basel, was never seen again. The disappearance coincided with the onset of the Battle of the Bulge, distracting military officials and delaying the acknowledgment of his absence for several days.