Doris Miller
Doris "Dorie" Miller (born October 12, 1919 in Waco , Texas , USA ; † November 24, 1943 ) was an American ship cook in the United States Navy . He achieved heroic fame for his actions in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was the first black American to be awarded the Navy Cross , the second highest honor in the US Navy.
Life
Doris Miller was born in Waco, Texas in 1919 and enrolled in the Navy in 1939 at the age of 20; However, since African-Americans were not allowed to serve in the fighting troops at this time, he had to work in the mess. Within a short period of time, he rose to become third class ship cook on board the USS Pyro (AE-1) before being transferred to the USS West Virginia (BB-48) in 1940 , where he made a name for himself as a heavyweight boxer.
On December 7, 1941, Miller was collecting laundry when the Imperial Forces air raid on the US base at Pearl Harbor began. He went immediately to his combat station, which was not ready for combat, so he instead helped tend the wounded. When Captain Mervyn Sharp Bennion was wounded by a fragment from an aerial bomb, Miller helped get him to safety. The captain later died of his injuries and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor .
Shortly thereafter, Miller found an anti-aircraft gun ( Browning M2 0.50 caliber machine gun) from West Virginia loaded and unmanned; without hesitation and without ever having been trained for it, he took over the gun and opened fire on the Japanese planes. Although he was never recorded for the downing of an enemy plane, he said he was certain that he had "caught" an enemy dive bomber. He fired around 15 minutes until his magazine was empty and he left the ship with the other crew members. After the attack, he was transferred to the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) .
The story of his brave combat behavior soon made the rounds of the troops and African-American media on the mainland, drawing the attention of Navy command to him. On May 27, 1942, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz personally awarded Miller the Navy Cross . He emphasized the young man's courage, and that in his opinion there would undoubtedly be more glorious deeds by African American soldiers in the future.
In the fall of 1943 Miller was transferred to the escort aircraft carrier USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56) and fell when the carrier was torpedoed and sunk off the Gilbert Islands during Operation Galvanic in 1943 .
In the film Pearl Harbor in 2001 Miller of Cuba Gooding Jr. played.
honors and awards
The Knox-class frigate USS Miller (FF-1091) entered service in 1973 and was named in Miller's honor. On January 20, 2020, the U.S. Navy announced that it would name the future Ford-class aircraft carrier CVN-81 after Miller. Aircraft carriers of the US Navy were mostly named after US presidents, battles or high military officials. Miller is the first African-American to be named after a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier.
Overall, Miller received some of the most coveted awards in the U.S. armed forces:
- Navy Cross
- Purple heart
- American Defense Service Medal
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
- World War II Victory Medal
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Miller, Doris |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Miller, Dorie (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | African-American ship's cook, gained heroic fame for his actions in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 12, 1919 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Waco , Texas , USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 24, 1943 |