Miller was an infantry officer, who commanded a U. S. Marine battalion and served as an advisor to the Republic of Vietnam Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. Later in his career, he was Deputy Director of the Marine Corps' History and Museums Division and was a speechwriter to three Commandant of the Marine Corps.

He joined the United States Naval Institute staff on 19 September 1985 and served until 31 August 2000, becoming managing editor of Proceedings and Naval History Magazine, which he had helped to establish in 1988.

He wrote several books of which the best known is The Bridge at Dong Ha, the story of Navy Cross recipient John Ripley .

• The Battle to save the Houston, October 1944 to March 1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1985; 2000.

• The bridge at Dong Ha. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1989.

• Punching out: launching a post-military career by Fred Mastin with John Grider Miller. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994.

• The co-vans: U.S. Marine advisors in Vietnam. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2000.