Miles was one of the best soccer players in the city and dreamed of one day becoming a professional. The 1968 Simon Gratz High School graduate was on the all-city soccer team in 1968, and was voted Gratz's most valuable athlete in 1966 and 1967. "He was a congenial sort of fella. He never went anywhere by himself and everyone liked him," his mother said. Miles joined the Army in June 1968 and was sent to Vietnam, where he was an equipment storage specialist in the 388th Transportation Company. The specialist five died on July 12, 1970, three days before his 20th birthday, while operating radio equipment in the town of Vung Tau, southeast of Saigon. In addition to his mother, he was survived by three brothers.