RIVERSIDE - It's not often that a former deserter from the U.S. Army is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and buried as a hero, but an 88-year-old career military man was honored as such, it was reported today.

Col. Lewis L. Millett, of Idyllwild, died Nov. 14 at Jerry L. Pettis Memorial VA Medical Center in Loma Linda. He was 88, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

Millett was unhappy with the United States remaining neutral when Germany attacked Great Britain, and deserted to join the Canadian Army. He returned to the U.S. Army Air Corps after the Pearl Harbor attack, and served 31 years before retiring as a colonel.

At least 500 friends, relatives, veterans and active service members gathered at the Riverside National Cemetery's Medal of Honor Memorial to remember Millett for his courage and love for the country, plus what they described as his orneriness and outspokenness, said the newspaper.

His son, Lewis L. Millett Jr., a Vietnam paratrooper and sculptor, read a poem, "An Old Soldier's Prayer," written by his father.

Family friend Mike Goldware praised Millett for his bravery in fighting for freedom. He called Millett one of the country's greatest warriors, the Press-Enterprise reported.

"His love for this country controlled his entire being,'' Goldware said. The crowd chuckled after he called Millett "the only deserter decorated with the Medal of Honor."

Millett enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1940 and served as an air gunner, then deserted to join the Canadian Army when it appeared the United States would not enter World War II, the paper reported.

"He wasn't going to have any of that," Goldware, told the paper.

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Sweat Cardio & Yoga Millett returned to his unit in the U.S. Army in 1942 upon the United States' entrance into World War II and served in the 1st Armored Division.

After making sergeant, he was awarded a battlefield commission, the Press-Enterprise reported.

Goldware said Millett was proud that military service had been a part of his family since the 1600s. His son, John Millett, preceded him in death when he was killed in a 1985 plane crash off Gander, Newfoundland, along with 245 other members of the 101st Airborne Division "Screaming Eagles."

Army Maj. Gen. Roger Brautigan, secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs, said Millett was well known for his orneriness and candidness, the paper reported.

"He was also very passionate," Brautigan told the paper. "He had a heart of gold. I am honored to have known him."

Millett distinguished himself "above and beyond the call of duty in action" in Korea, after he, then a captain, and his men came under heavy enemy fire on Feb. 7, 1951, according to his Medal of Honor Citation, the Press-Enterprise reported.

He ordered and led a bayonet counterattack up the hill, killing enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand assault during which he was wounded by a grenade blast. But by early afternoon, his company had taken the hill, the newspaper reported.

President Harry S. Truman in July 1951 presented Millett the Medal of Honor. Millett retired as a colonel in 1973 after a 31-year career in which he served in World War II, the Korea War and the Vietnam War, the Press-Enterprise reported.

His other decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.