Earl enlisted in the Army in Oct.1940. He was promoted to Staff Sergeant in 1942 and served as a Battalion supply Sergeant. On 15 Dec 1942, he was appointed Warrant Officer Junior Grade, Supply Officer General. From Dec 1942 to Dec 1945, he served in various capacities in combat in Europe. He received the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Service in Combat. The citation was for establishment of forward engineer supply points under enemy fire. He had a break in service from Dec 1945 to Jan 1947. Earl rejoined the service in July 1947 as a Warrant Officer and served at Fort Belvoir, VA; Heidelberg Military Post in Germany; Fort Riley, KS; and in Seoul, Korea. He worked for the United Nations Armistice Commission in Korea and for the Eighth Army Quartermaster Depot in Seoul. He also served as a Supply Officer of a Tank Battalion at Fort Hood, Texas. From there, Earl served as a Military Intelligence Officer in the United States and in Germany from 1956-60. His last military assignment was at Fort Holabird, MD. Chief Warrant Officer Mills was credited with over nine years of Foreign Service. He attended a number of military schools including the Monterey, CA., Army Language school as a Hungarian Linguist, several Procurement and Logistics schools, the Special Course in Infantry Weapons at Fort Benning, GA; and several Army Intelligence Schools including a special school in Oberammergau, Germany as a German Linguist. His military awards include: WWII Victory Medal, Bronze Star, National Defense Service Medal, UN Service Medal, Meritorious Unit Citation with 5 clusters, Army commendation Medal. Following his distinguished military career, Earl worked for several years at the Disney World Complex in Florida. After, he returned to his home town of Abilene, Kansas, where he became an active figure in the community and in city government. He was a City Commissioner and the Mayor of Abilene. Earl married Elizabeth West in 1946 and she traveled with him on many of his military assignments as well as with him for his post-military career.