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Former ENMU Basketball Player is Remembered
By Rana Terry
Ronald Dutrell Milam (B.S. 91) will always be a hero to so many who knew him. Ron was commissioned in the U.S. Army through the ROTC Program at Eastern New Mexico University.
He had just concluded 10 years of military service at the time of his death working for the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Army. On Sept. 11, 2001, Ron lost his life serving his country at the Pentagon. He and his wife, Army Capt. Jacqueline Milam, had moved to the D.C. area in July 2000, and Jacqueline was expecting their second child when Ron was killed. Jacqueline was working for the Air Force on the opposite side of the Pentagon on that tragic day. Ron had been promoted to Major in the U.S. Army in June 2001.
As a tribute to Ron and the many victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, ENMU established the Major Ron D. Milam Memorial Scholarship Fund benefiting a member of the men’s basketball team. According to ENMU Athletic Director, Dr. Jeff Geiser, the Bench Club agreed to get behind this scholarship with an annual contribution. The Bench Club also funded the new plaque honoring Ron that is displayed in Greyhound Arena. The plaque features his photo, his accolades and a list of the recipients of the Major Ron D. Milam Scholarship.
“Major Ron Milam is one of our nation’s heroes. It is only fitting that a scholarship in his name be funded by the Bench Club to award to a young Greyhound basketball player so he can follow in the footsteps of Ron Milam,” said Dr. Geiser. According to his brother Steve, “Ron was a leader on the floor, and he was a very competitive and tough player.”
These are the character attributes that the Bench Club feels the recipients of the Ron Milam Scholarship should demonstrate. “We are proud to be able to continue the legacy of a great American and a great Greyhound,” says Dr. Geiser.
“Ron was a very driven person and a natural leader in sports. He loved sports, especially basketball and football. He was charismatic but also no nonsense,” said Ron’s brother with pride. “He felt strongly about family and being close to his family. Ron was loyal and he loved life. He was full of dreams and goals and Ron wanted to be the best at whatever he did. Later in adulthood, he became focused on being a Christian and living out those values. Ron was a great person to be around. I’m simply proud of the fact that Ron was my brother – that’s it – there’s nothing better than that.”
Ron was a native of Muskogee, Okla., where he attended Taft Elementary and then Muskogee High School. After high school he played basketball under Coach Earl Diddle for two years at Oklahoma Panhandle State University. When the coach transferred to Eastern New Mexico University in 1988, Ron did as well.
Coach Diddle and Ron continued a close relationship for 13 years after Ron’s college basketball days ended. After Sept. 11, Muskogee High School renamed their basketball gym in memory of Ron and established scholarships. Fort Bliss Army Base in El Paso, Texas, has done the same. And recently, the Fort Sill Army Base in Lawton, Okla., named a newly built facility after Ron and invited his family for the ceremony.
