Doris Miller

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 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. 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.

Early life and education Miller was born in Waco, Texas, on October 12, 1919, to Conery and Henrietta Miller. He was named Doris, as the midwife who assisted his mother was convinced before his birth that the baby would be a girl. He was the third of four sons and helped around the house, cooked meals and did laundry, as well as worked on the family farm. He was a fullback on the football team at Waco's Alexander James Moore High School. He began attending the eighth grade on January 25, 1937, at age 17; he repeated the grade the following year because of poor performance, so he decided to drop out of school. He filled his time squirrel hunting with a .22 rifle and completed a correspondence course in taxidermy. He applied to join the Civilian Conservation Corps but was not accepted. At that time, he was tall and weighed more than . Since then, some writers have suggested that it was a "nickname to shipmates and friends". Mess attendant was one of the few ratings open at the time to Black sailors. He was transferred to the Naval Training Center, Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia, arriving on September 19. Miller and another sailor lifted the skipper but were unable to remove him from the bridge, so they carried him on a cot from his exposed position on the damaged bridge to a sheltered spot on the deck behind the conning tower where he remained during the second Japanese attack. Captain Bennion refused to leave his post, questioned his officers and men about the condition of the ship, and gave orders and instructions to crew members to defend the ship and fight.

Lieutenant Frederic H. White had ordered Miller to help him and Ensign Victor Delano load the unmanned number 1 and number 2 Browning .50 caliber anti-aircraft machine guns aft of the conning tower.

The ship was heavily damaged by bombs, torpedoes, and resulting explosions and fires, but the crew prevented her from capsizing by counter-flooding compartments. Instead, West Virginia sank to the harbor bottom in shallow water as her surviving crew abandoned ship, including Miller; Additional news reports credited Lawrence D. Reddick with learning the name through correspondence with the Navy Department, with these news reports giving the Double V campaign greater legitimacy and momentum. In the following days, Senator James M. Mead introduced a Senate bill [] to award Miller the Medal of Honor, and Representative John Dingell Sr. introduced a matching House bill [].

Miller was regarded as one of the first U.S. heroes of World War II. He was commended in a letter signed by Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox on April 1, and the next day CBS Radio broadcast an episode of the series They Live Forever that dramatized Miller's actions. The All-Southern Negro Youth Conference launched a signature campaign on April 17–19. On May 10, the National Negro Congress denounced Knox's recommendation against awarding Miller the Medal of Honor. On May 11 President Roosevelt approved the Navy Cross for Miller.

On May 27 Miller was one of nine officers and men personally recognized by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, aboard the aircraft carrier (CV-6) at anchor in Pearl Harbor. Nimitz presented Miller with the Navy Cross and stated, "This marks the first time in this conflict that such high tribute has been made in the Pacific Fleet to a member of his race and I'm sure that the future will see others similarly honored for brave acts." Subsequent congressional efforts have sought reconsideration or authorization of a posthumous award, including legislation introduced in 2017 and 2025. In August 2026, ABC News reported that Miller was under consideration for an upgrade of his Navy Cross to the Medal of Honor and that, according to one source familiar with the discussions, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had sent a memorandum to Congress recommending the award. As of 1 September, 2026, no Medal of Honor had been formally announced.

Return to United States and the war

Miller advanced in rating to Mess Attendant First Class on June 1, 1942. On June 27 the Pittsburgh Courier called for him to be allowed to return home for a war bond tour along with white war heroes. On July 25 the Pittsburgh Courier ran a photo of Miller with the caption, "He Fought... Keeps Mop" next to a photo of a white survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack receiving an officer's commission. The photo caption stated that the Navy felt that Miller was "too important waiting tables in the Pacific" for him to return to the United States. On November 23 Miller returned to Pearl Harbor and was ordered on a war bond tour while still attached to the Indianapolis.

In February 1943, the Navy changed the title Mess Attendant to Steward's Mate. On May 15, Miller reported to Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington, assigned to the newly constructed escort carrier (CVE-56). The Liscome Bay was the flagship for Carrier Division 24 which was under the command of Rear Admiral Henry M. Mullinnix. On October 22, Liscome Bay set sail for Pearl Harbor. On November 24, the day after Makin was captured by American soldiers and the eve of Thanksgiving (the cooks had broken out the frozen turkeys from Pearl Harbor), The carrier's own torpedoes and aircraft bombs exploded, causing the ship to sink in 23 minutes. but Miller was among the two-thirds of the crew listed as "presumed dead". His parents were informed that he was missing in action on December 7, 1943.

Military awards Miller's decorations and awards: 1st Row

Legacy

CVN-81 to be named after Doris Miller Members of Doris Miller's family and U.S. Navy personnel unveil the design concept for the future aircraft carrier during the ship's naming ceremony in 2020. A Knox-class frigate, USS Miller (FF-1091) was named in Miller's honor prior to its commissioning on June 30, 1973. On January 20, 2020, acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas B. Modly officially announced that CVN-81 would be named the USS Doris Miller during a ceremony in Hawaii.

In August 2026, CNN reported that the U.S. Navy was considering renaming CVN-81 and naming a different warship in Miller's honor instead. Two sources familiar with the discussions told CNN that naming CVN-81 after President Donald Trump had been considered, although no decision on a new name had been made. The Department of Defense stated that it had "nothing to announce at this time". This will continue to be a controversial topic.

Memorials Doris Miller Memorial, a public art installation on the banks of the Brazos River in Waco. A nine-foot bronze statue was unveiled on December 7, 2017. A bronze commemorative plaque at the Doris Miller Park housing community located near Naval Station Pearl Harbor; organized by the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and dedicated on October 12, 1991, which would have been Miller's 72nd birthday. Plaque in the Memorial Courtyard at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas.

Schools Dorie Miller Intermediate School, Ennis, Texas Doris Miller Elementary School, San Antonio, Texas (opened 1947) Doris Miller Elementary School, San Diego, California (dedicated April 28, 1976) Dorie Miller Elementary School, Waco, Texas (closed 2012) Doris Miller Middle School, San Marcos, Texas

Community-related Bledsoe–Miller Community Center, recreation facility in Waco, Texas, jointly named for Jules Bledsoe Dorie Miller Community Center, recreation facility in San Antonio, Texas Dorie Miller Drive, Champaign, Illinois Dorie Miller Homes, a housing community in Gary, Indiana Dorie Miller Houses, a housing cooperative complex built in 1953 in the Corona neighborhood of Queens, New York Dorie Miller Park, Lewisburg, West Virginia Doris Miller Auditorium, Rosewood Park, Austin, Texas Doris Miller Community Center, Newport News, Virginia Doris Miller Family YMCA, Waco, Texas Doris Miller Loop, Honolulu, Hawaii, with a monument located at north end of street Doris Miller Memorial Park, a cemetery on the border of Waco and Bellmead, Texas Dorie Miller Recreation Center, San Antonio, Texas

Military-related , a destroyer escort (reclassified as a on June 30, 1975) commissioned on June 30, 1973; decommissioned on October 15, 1991, was named after him. The Bachelor Enlisted Quarters at Naval Station Great Lakes was dedicated to Miller on December 7, 1971. Dorie Miller Galley, the main galley for Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti Doris Miller Dining Hall, Naval Air Station Chase Field, Beeville, Texas Doris Miller Park, a housing community for military personnel in Honolulu , a future , announced on January 19, 2020. The ship is scheduled to be laid down in 2026 and launched in 2029.

Veteran-related Dorie Miller Chapter 14 – Disabled American Veterans chapter in Washington, D.C. Dorie Miller Post 546 – American Legion post in Racine, Wisconsin Dorie Miller Post 915 – American Legion post in Chicago Dorie E. Miller Post 817 – American Legion post in Beaumont, Texas Doris Miller Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Waco, Texas; includes monument and a road named Doris Miller Circle.

Radio In 1942, Miller's actions were dramatized on the CBS Radio series They Live Forever. The April 25, 1944, episode of the CBS Radio series Columbia Presents Corwin, titled "Dorie Got a Medal", starred Canada Lee and Josh White in Norman Corwin's "jazz-and-jive opera" about Miller. On the December 9, 1945, broadcast of his ABC radio series Orson Welles Commentaries, Orson Welles presented a tribute to Doris Miller and spoke to his father, Connery Miller. Broadcast from the U. S. Naval Training and Distribution Center on Treasure Island, San Francisco, the program announced the naming of three theater complexes to honor three World War II heroes killed in action. Theater One was named for Doris Miller; the other two theaters were named for Medal of Honor recipients John Basilone and Edward O'Hare.

Film and television Miller is portrayed by actor Elven Havard in the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora!. Miller is portrayed by actor Cuba Gooding Jr. in the 2001 film Pearl Harbor. Miller being awarded the Navy Cross was depicted in the 2019 film Midway. Miller is played by Abdul Sulaiman in National Geographic's "Erased: WWII Heroes of Colour" which focuses on him and fellow African American mess mates George Bland and Clark Simmons.

Other Founded in 1943, the Dorie Miller Foundation began giving an annual award in 1947 to an individual or group considered outstanding in the field of race relations. Recipients included Jackie Robinson, Jesse Owens, and Eleanor Roosevelt. The award later became the American Heritage & Freedom Award. The Gwendolyn Brooks poem Negro Hero (1945) is narrated from Miller's point of view. In 2002, Molefi Kete Asante included Miller on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans. Miller was honored by the United States Postal Service as one of four Distinguished Sailors, with a 44-cent commemorative stamp issued on February 4, 2010. Also honored were William Sims, Arleigh Burke, and John McCloy.