Gerald L. Miller (born 1937) is an American Mennonite medical missionary who worked with the Eastern Mennonite Missions board to save hundreds of lives in Somalia in the years 1971-1972. Miller also found himself convicted and later acquitted of the murder of a government official in a high-profile case during his time in Somalia.
Background
Miller's background in the Mennonite church influenced his service and played a major role in the murder trial. Miller grew up in Shipshewana, Indiana, United States. There, he learned about his Mennonite faith at his church where they shared some of his relatives' missionary experiences. Miller continued his schooling at Goshen College and later received his doctorate from Indiana School of Medicine.
Miller opened his own medical practice in Markle, Indiana, and started a family with wife Mary. Miller and his family moved to Somalia in 1971. Miller served as a doctor at the Jamama Mennonite Hospital from 1971 to 1972 and lived with his family in Mogadishu, Somalia. While he was there, Miller was the only American doctor in Somalia, and was one of a few non-Somali doctors. During this time, Miller was charged with the murder of Hussein Sadad Hassan. Miller pleaded "not guilty" on August 25, 1971, and was cleared of all charges before he and his family returned to the United States.
Miller also worked with his daughter, Shari Miller Wagner, and wrote A Hundred Camels, published by Cascadia Publishing House in 2009. The book details the time Miller and his family served in Somalia before and during the trial.
In 2015, Miller again worked with his daughter, Shari Miller Wagner, and wrote Making the Rounds, published by BookLocker.com. This book details the experiences Miller had while being the doctor for the small town of Markle, Indiana.
Miller now lives in Westfield, Indiana, with his family and has retired from the medical profession.
Life in Indiana
Early on, missionary-minded relatives began to influence Miller and planted ideas of a greater goal in his mind. These relatives, including Orie O. Miller, Jay Hostetler, and Ernest E. Miller watched Miller as he grew in his faith at Forks Mennonite Church in Lagrange County, Indiana, where he attended with his family. After receiving his high school degree in 1955, Miller studied for four years at Goshen College, a Mennonite school in Indiana. This continuation of his general education and Mennonite education would aid him in his future trip. During the four years spent focusing on a Pre-Med education, Miller met his wife Mary.
Miller married Mary in 1956, just after their first year of college, creating a partnership that would allow Miller to have a greater impact on those he worked with. The wedding was a traditional Mennonite wedding where rings were absent, but the service vows proved untraditional. Mary omitted the word "obey" from her vows, possibly accidentally. During their last three years of college, the young couple planted a church in California, Michigan, starting their focus on evangelism early on. The Miller family welcomed their first child, Shari, 18 months after the wedding. Miller began part-time jobs in order to support the family.
Miller pursued his medical degree, relocating the family and attending the Indiana University School of Medicine. He graduated from medical school in 1964 and followed with his residency in Fort Wayne, Indiana. After his residency, Miller began a family practice in Markle, Indiana. He was joined by two other physicians: Dr. Lee Kinzer and Dr. Vic Binkley. Miller is also credited with creating the first EMS service in Bluffton, IN at Wells Community Hospital in 1969.
Miller and his family received a greater call one day. After much prayer and reflection, the Miller family felt the pull to go to Africa, where they would have the opportunity to spread their faith and help others through the medical knowledge Miller had.
Trip to Somalia
The Eastern Mennonite Mission contacted Miller after a doctor left the Mennonite Sharati Hospital in Tanzania. Although Miller and his family knew nothing about Tanzania or the mission there, they felt as though they could help. Miller would be filling in for one year while the Board searched for a full-time replacement. Miller's extensive training obstetrics, pediatrics, surgeries, and general medicine would serve him well, but he was still unprepared for the variety of tropical diseases that he would encounter. Six weeks after the Millers signed on, the Board changed Miller's assignment to Jamama Hospital in Somalia, a country whose government was not recognized by the United States.
