Diksha Sundriyal
Directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland, ‘Warfare’ is a war drama that presents a harrowing look into a day in the lives of a Navy SEAL team. It portrays the real events that took place in November 2006, when the team was sent on a surveillance mission to make sure the area was safe to pass through for the troops the next day. As part of their mission, the team set camp at an apartment building, but it turned out to be close to the insurgents, who launched an attack on them, forcing the soldiers into survival mode. While every member of the team met a challenge of their own, there were two soldiers who received severe injuries that permanently changed their lives. Elliott Miller was one of them.
Elliott Miller Sustained Grievous Injuries During the Mission
Growing up on a farm in Illinois with two elder and one younger sibling, Elliott Miller had always been the kind of person who refused to give up. When he graduated from school, he enlisted in the Marine Corps, from which he was honourably discharged after four years of service. Following this, he landed himself at Southern Illinois University, and was still considering the next plan of action when the tragedy of 9/11 took place. This motivated Elliott to re-enlist, but this time in the Navy. By May 2003, he had finished his SEAL training from BUD/S class 241 and joined SEAL Team 5, serving as a sniper and a combat medic. He served on his post diligently, but had to be taken out of the field following the events of November 2006 when he was hit by a grenade and then by an IED, leading him to be severely wounded.
The two hits left Elliott with two significant fractures on his left leg, a broken arm, and swelling in the brain. The white phosphorus in the bomb resulted in 60 percent of his body being covered in burns. It took some time for the rescue to arrive and for the team to get Elliott out of the war zone. From the combat hospital in Iraq, he was flown to the army medical centre in San Antonio, Texas. The trauma to his brain led him to forget all about the events of the day, as well as the transfers from Iraq back home. He had also spent several weeks in a coma, which made a few people concerned about his chances of survival, but Elliott was not going to give up so easily. It took a lot of surgery, physical therapy, and rehabilitation, but he managed to pull through the worst of it all and is now living a happy, thriving life.
Elliott Miller is Living a Private Life With His Family Today
Elliott Miller lives in San Diego with his wife, April, whom he met while recovering from his injuries. She was his physical therapist, and over the course of their time together, they developed a close bond, which eventually turned into a wedding in 2010. The couple has two sons, Joseph and Wyatt Christopher. Because Elliott, who is now a stay-at-home dad, lost both his legs due to the injuries, he uses a wheelchair to go around. Due to this, their house needed to be wheelchair accessible. In 2016, they received a house through the Military Warriors Foundation and Wells Fargo Bank’s initiative. Elliott’s special requirements led them to remodel the house according to him and make it feel like the home he and his loving family deserve.
The drastic injuries from the November 2006 mission have resulted in permanent loss of speech for Elliott, and he uses an iPad to communicate with the people around him. The incident also claimed his memories, and despite having the events recounted to him by his friends and fellow soldiers several times, he still has no recollection of that fateful day. It was to give him a visual overview of the incident that Ray Mendoza, who is also one of his closest friends, decided to make ‘Warfare.’ The former soldier and writer-director dedicated the film to Elliott and revealed that he was the only audience he made the film for. Due to this, he didn’t bother changing the dialogue to make it more civilian-friendly. It was supposed to be as accurate as possible to give Elliott an immersive experience, and it succeeded in the task.
Eliott Miller Did Not Let Adversity Define His Life
Elliott Miller appreciates what his friend has done for him, and he remembers Ray Mendoza and the rest of his team as the people he still considers his family. He also visited the film’s set and was blown away by the realism of the sets created to resemble the building in Iraq. He also met Cosmo Jarvis, the actor who plays him in the movie, and appreciated his realistic performance. Thinking about the events of that day and the injuries he received, he revealed that no matter how bad it got, he had decided that he was going to survive, no matter what it took, and sure enough, he came out of it better than anyone could have expected from someone with the wounds inflicted on like him.
Despite the said adversity, Elliott has not lost his sense of humour. His friends note that he is still the same funny guy who can sweep people off their feet with his charm. He likes to spend time with his loved ones and is fairly private about his life. However, he does appear in public functions and podcasts to discuss his time in the Navy or to support veterans. He regularly participates in fundraisers and works with foundations to raise money and donate to the issues close to his heart. While he might not be serving in the Navy now, he is not entirely far from action. He seeks activities like skydiving to quench his thirst for adventure and harbors a love for guns. Apart from this, he generally prefers to keep to himself and dedicates his time to his wife and children.
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