My father had a 10-centimetre shrapnel from the Dukla Pass under his shoulder blade
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Jaroslav Miller was born on 10 October 1949 in Rapotín, Šumperk region. His parents, Antonie and Miroslav Miller, were Volhynian Czechs who moved to Czechoslovakia after the World War II. His grandfather Josef Novák died in the ranks of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps in the battle for the Dukla Pass. His father suffered a severe wound in these battles, which left a ten-centimetre shrapnel in his body for the rest of his life. After attending primary school, Jaroslav Miller graduated from secondary technical automotive school in Zábřeh. Immediately after graduation, in August 1968, he joined basic military service with the rocket army in Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav, where he experienced the invasion of Warsaw Pact troops three weeks later. He recalls that he spent the next 14 days on alert in trenches because the commander of the unit decided to defend the barracks from the occupiers. Right after completing his military service, Jaroslav Miller got married. He then worked as a driver and later head of the technical department at the Masný průmysl Šumperk company. Since 2016 he has been the chairman of the Union of Volhynian Bohemians in Šumperk region. At the time of recording in 2023, he was living in Rapotín.
