MITCH MEADOR

The headquarters building of 4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery (ADA), was dedicated Tuesday to the memory of Maj. Ronald Dutrell Milam, an Oklahoma native killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the Pentagon.”A special welcome to the family of Maj. Ron Milam his mom and dad, Effie and Tommie Milam; Ron’s brother, Steve your presence at today’s ceremony is a testament to Ron’s legacy in the Army and air defense community as we dedicate the 4-3 ADA headquarters building in his memory,” said Col. Daniel L. Karbler, commander of 31st ADA Brigade.

When asked after the dedication why he chose to name Building 3907 in Milam’s honor, Karbler said, “Ron Milam was a good friend of mine. I was his very first observation course instructor back in 1990.

“And then we served together in Bitburg, Germany, and then we served together in the Pentagon. And then I talked to him Friday before the attack on the Pentagon.

“We were both assigned to the Pentagon at the same time. He was just in a different area. But I talked about the parallels in life. My wife’s an Air Force officer; his wife is an Air Force officer. His firstborn was a girl, my firstborn was a girl. My second-born was a boy, his second-born was going to be a boy. He was an aide de camp; I had been an aide de camp. And we had joked. I said, ‘You’ve got to quit following me around on all these deadbeat jobs.’ So we joked, and we talked about getting together for golf, and that’s my last discussion I’d had with him,” Karbler said.

“He was a great air defender, great soldier, great guy. And when I had the opportunity to memorialize him, I wanted to take that opportunity,” the colonel said.

“I learned about it three or four weeks ago,” said Milam’s father, Tommie Milam of Tulsa.

“It’s good to be here. Something like this is so gratifying, Fort Sill recognizing our son. We miss him a lot,” he said.

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