CNN reports that the Navy is considering naming an aircraft carrier after President Donald Trump, instead of the intended and announced name of Doris “Dorie” Miller, a mess attendant who came from below decks at Pearl Harbor to perform acts of courage on a heroic scale.
Newsweek Magazine reported that “Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, a former Navy pilot, was among those who publicly criticized the reports.
In a post on X, he said: ‘Dorie Miller’s bravery at Pearl Harbor is legendary and resulted in him being awarded the Navy Cross. This aircraft carrier shouldn’t be renamed at all, let alone for Donald Trump, who has denigrated service members like Dorie Miller who have paid the ultimate price.’”
Below is Miller’s story on Wikipedia. To read it is to understand why Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, said, as reported in The Guardian, “‘This is a slap in the face to every war hero and every service member who has worn the uniform,’ said the civil rights group. ‘Doris Miller earned his place in American history through courage, sacrifice, and service,’ added Johnson. ‘Donald Trump only wants to serve himself.’”
Doris “Dorie” Miller (October 12, 1919 – November 24, 1943) was a U.S. Navy sailor who was the first Black recipient of the Navy Cross and a nominee for the Medal of Honor. As a mess attendant second class[1][2] aboard the battleship USS West Virginia, Miller helped carry wounded sailors to safety during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
He then operated an anti-aircraft gun[3] and, despite no prior training in gunnery, officially shot down one plane (according to Navy Department records), but Miller and other eyewitnesses claimed a range of four to six.
Miller received the Navy Cross from Admiral Chester Nimitz on May 27, 1942, but many sailors and naval officers believed that Miller’s heroism deserved a Medal of Honor.[5] Miller was nominated for a Medal of Honor by a congressman from Michigan and a senator from New York, and the Black press enthusiastically campaigned for Miller to receive this decoration.
Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, who opposed Black sailors serving the United States in any combat role, recommended against Miller receiving the Medal of Honor.[ No Black sailor, soldier, or Marine was awarded the Medal of Honor between 1941 and 1945, and in 1996 Vernon J. Baker was the only Black veteran of World War II to be awarded the decoration while still alive.
In June 1943, Miller was promoted to cook petty officer, third class. In November 1943, Miller was killed in action when his ship, the escort carrier Liscome Bay, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine during the Battle of Makin in the Gilbert Islands, with the loss of 702 officers and sailors – the deadliest sinking of a carrier in the history of the United States Navy.