Monument for Medal of Honor recipient James Henry Mills will be refurbished

LAKELAND — Weathered and rough around the edges, a monument honoring the wartime heroics of James Henry Mills is due for a facelift, and more.

Visitors to Lakeland's Veterans Memorial Park soon will be able to read a short narrative of Mills' life, before and after he earned the Congressional Medal of Honor, the only Polk County native to do so in World War II.

The Polk Veterans' Council has launched a fund drive to raise at least $5,000 to refurbish the existing monument, which includes details of Mills' exploits in Italy on May 24, 1944.

But there's more to the Fort Meade native's story, and the additional plaque will fill in some blanks.

“We want to do it right,” said Gary Clark, chairman of the veterans council and a retired Air Force colonel. “There's nothing there right now except the citation. There's not a real story.”

A ceremony is planned for 10 a.m. Nov. 10 to rededicate Mills' memorial and unveil the new feature. Author and historian Cantor Brown Jr. of Fort Meade is the keynote speaker. A Veterans Day parade to nearby Munn Park will follow.

Portions of Mills' story will be read aloud at the ceremony, but the citation alone is a doozy.

Signed by then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt just six months before his death at age 63 of a cerebral hemorrhage, Mills' medal citation relates how the then-21-year-old Army private was embroiled in combat near the Italian village of Cisterna di Littoria.

He and his fellow soldiers found themselves surrounded by German troops while making their way north toward Rome.

The War Department citation, awarded Nov. 14, 1944, while Mills was still in Italy, reads:

“Private Mills preceded his platoon to reach a position from which an attack could be launched against a heavily fortified strong point. After advancing about 300 yards, Mills was fired on by a machine gun only five yards distant. He killed the gunner with one shot and forced the surrender of the assistant gunner.

“Continuing his advance, he saw a German soldier in a camouflaged position behind a large bush pulling the pin of a potato-masher grenade. Covering the German with his rifle, Mills forced him to drop the grenade and captured him. When another enemy soldier attempted to throw a hand grenade into the draw, Mills killed him with one shot.”

The citation goes on to say how Mills continued to advance in the face of enemy fire, “shooting his M-1 from the hip.” He boldly placed himself in harm's way to draw enemy fire away from his fellow soldiers, who managed to sneak up on the enemy stronghold, capturing 22 of them.

Once the new plaque is installed at the veterans park behind Lakeland's RP Funding Center, a portion of Mills' life after the war will be on view. Wounded in a later battle, he was discharged from the service in 1945 and returned to Polk, where he helped operate his mother's citrus grove in Brewster, south of Mulberry.

The plaque leaves out an important detail, that Mills' life ended tragically on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 1973. Having survived the war, Mills died from injuries in a roadside incident near Gainesville, where he worked as a Veterans Administration field agent.

While driving an employee home, Mills pulled off the road to assist three men who appeared to be stranded by a broken down car. It was a ruse. Mills and his co-worker were beaten severely. The three men made off with Mills' car.

Mills died of his injuries three days later at age 50. He was buried with full military honors in Oak Hill Cemetery in Lakeland.

His great-nephew, Benjamin Mills, 49, of Bartow, prefers not to dwell on his great-uncle's demise. But he's happy that the memorial is getting a makeover that will tell more of the story.

“He was an extraordinary man; I think the monument ought to be cleaned up,” he said. “We need people like my uncle to inspire the next generation … He wasn't (the movie character) Rambo. He was just a country boy who answered the call. He died showing an act of kindness.”

Eric Pera can be reached at eric.pera@theledger.com or 863-802-7528.