Anthony S Miller

Anthony Miller of San Antonio preferred to be “a behind-the-scenes kind of guy,” said the high school cross-country coach who let him be a volunteer team manager.

But in a letter several weeks ago, “he told me, ‘It looks like I’m going to be closer to the front lines than I ever thought,’ “ said coach Kamara Adams of John Jay High School.

Miller, 19, was killed April 7 in Iraq. Army officials told the family he was a victim of “enemy indirect fire” but gave no details.

“We were always worried. We never knew exactly where he was — in the front lines or in the back,” his brother Patrick Miller said.

Adams met Miller by accident, just three months before his early graduation in December 2001 from John Jay. He always showed up at school...