John Carl Milhouse, Jr. – Colonel, United States Air Force

Ironton grad joins others who are buried in Arlington

By Kirsten Stanley
Courtesy of The Ironton (Ohio) Tribune
Friday, April 28, 2006

More than 20 years before his death, Ironton native and Air Force Colonel John “Carl” Milhouse Jr. knew that he wanted to be buried around others who shared his love for the military.

As he came closer to death, he told his wife that he belonged in Arlington Cemetery. On April 21, 2006, the Colonel got that wish.

Colonel Milhouse, 70, died in November and was cremated. His wife, Helen Harlacher Milhouse, also an Ironton native, was determined to get approval for his burial in Arlington, the best known of the 130 national cemeteries. She wanted his final interment to be in April because they met Easter weekend 49 years ago.

“To me, it was something special that I wanted,” Helen Milhouse said. “I knew that he wanted to be buried there and it was something I felt needed to be done.”

Colonel Milhouse was buried with full military honors, including a 21-gun salute and a performance by a military band. His urn was placed in a casket before burial.

Because they don’t have any children and she wanted to be assured of the constant upkeep of her husband’s gravesite, Milhouse thought Arlington was the best choice for his interment.

Also, she said, she wants to honor his years of dedicated service to the Air Force. She also plans to be buried at the site next to her husband.

Colonel Milhouse, a 1953 Ironton graduate, who lived in Oxford, Mississippi, for the past 25 years, retired from the military in 1984 after more than 27 years in the service.

He was drafted in 1959 and served as a communications/electronics specialist. He was in the Vietnam War and served time in Thailand, Turkey and Germany.

Milhouse was the son of Carl Milhouse Sr. and Mary K. Milhouse, both deceased.

Milhouse said there were several of the couples’ friends and relatives, several from Ironton, who attended the funeral, one of 23 at Arlington each day.

Only a few select groups of service men and women are allowed to be buried in the cemetery some of them include: Those who died in active duty, those who have 20 years or more of active duty or active reserve duty, those who were honorably discharged for a disability during the World War II era and those who hold the highest military honor such as the Medal of Honor of the Distinguished Service Cross.

MILHOUSE, JOHN CARL JR
COL   US AIR FORCE
VIETNAM
DATE OF BIRTH: 05/26/1935
DATE OF DEATH: 11/02/2005
BURIED AT: SECTION 54  SITE 3882
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard