Because of his age (he was 38) and needing glasses, Glenn Miller was unlikely to be drafted for military service, but like so many Americans of his day, he wanted to find some way to serve. Eventually the Army accepted him, commissioned him a captain, and put him in charge of all Army Air Forces bands.
After being stuck stateside for several months, Miller's desire to deploy overseas and perform for US troops became a reality when General Dwight Eisenhower personally requested Miller and his band come to England before the D-Day invasion.
In late-1944, Miller was promoted to major and received approval to move his headquarters from London to Paris following the liberation of that city. He flew to France on December 15, 1944 but his plane disappeared and he, his pilot, and his traveling companion were never seen again. They were all declared dead one year and one day later on December 16, 1945.
In 1944, at his daughter's request, a cenotaph was installed for Major Alton Glenn Miller at Arlington National Cemetery, in Memorial Section H, Grave 464-A. As far as I can tell, the trombone on the backside of his marker is unique to his headstone.
Before that time, his official memorial was his name engraved on "The Tablets of the Missing" at the Cambridge American Cemetery in Cambridge, England.
In Section 13 at Arlington, beneath an American Holly tree, is the memorial marker dedicated to the memory of Miller's Army Air Forces Orchestra.
Miller has a second cenotaph, this one installed by a fan who has no relation to Miller or his family, at the Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut.
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