| Trump wants his name on an aircraft carrier being built for Doris “Dorie” Miller, a Black hero during World War 2 |
| Trump wants his name on an aircraft carrier being built for Doris “Dorie” Miller, a Black hero during World War 2 |
| Trump wants his name on an aircraft carrier being built for Doris “Dorie” Miller, a Black hero during World War 2 Frederick H. LoweBlackmansStreet.Today Doris “Dorie” Miller is a true American hero, but Donald Trump, the nation’s worst-ever president, wants to take the honor away from him and give it to himself. A native of Waco, Texas, Miller was a messmate on the USS West Virginia, the only menial job the Navy at the time allowed Black men to do, including sweeping the floors, cleaning the toilets, and serving White pilots, when a Japanese aircraft carrier launched a surprise attack on Oahu, Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941 . The attack involved torpedoes and bombs that came in two waves, causing fires and explosions. The attack sank 4 battleships and destroyed 188 aircraft. The Japanese carrier launched a torpedo attack that heavily damaged the USS West Virginia, which also sank. A piece of shrapnel wounded USS West Virginia Captain Mervyn Bennion in the stomach. Miller carried Bennion to safety. He also took other wounded sailors to safety, and then he was ordered to help higher-ups load machine guns, but much to their surprise, he began operating a 50-caliber anti-aircraft gun, shooting down an estimated one to six Japanese Zero fighters, sending them to a watery grave. Miller was referred to as a “Negro” sailor. Whites did not know his name, but the Pittsburgh Courier did, and they wrote about him. White media got his name from the Black press. Admiral Chester Nimitz awarded Miller the Navy Cross aboard the USS Enterprise on May 27, 1942, but many sailors and naval officers believed Miller’s heroism deserved the Medal of Honor. Miller was nominated for the Medal of Honor, and a congressman from Michigan and a senator from New York, along with the Black press, enthusiastically campaigned for him to receive the honor.But Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, who opposed Black sailors serving the United States in any combat role, did not endorse Miller receiving the nation’s highest medal. Knox’s boss, President Franklin Roosevelt, carried the same prejudice. He refused to invite Jesse Owens to the White House after he won four gold medals in the 1936 Summer Olympic Games because he did not want to offend White Southern Democrats. Adolf Hitler, chancellor of Germany, however, acknowledged Owens with a wave of appreciation for his achievements.Now the Navy is building an aircraft carrier named in his honor, but Trump wants his name on the carrier instead of Miller’s. Trump praised the designation but added he hopes the Navy would name an aircraft carrier after him. The aircraft carrier named for Miller marks two historic firsts. If it happens, it would be the first aircraft carrier named for an enlisted sailor, as well as the first named for an African American. The ship will be the second to honor Miller, who received the Navy Cross for bravery at Pearl Harbor; the first ship was USS Miller (FF-1091).The USS Doris Miller (CVN-81) is planned to be the fourth Gerald R. Ford-classaircraft carrier of the United States Navy. Doris Miller was laid down in 2026, and it will be commissioned in February 2034. She will be built at Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries in Newport News, Virginia.In August 2026, speculation arose that the acting Secretary of the Navy, Hung Cao, and the Trump administration were investigating changing the ship’s name from Doris Miller. A number of official publications, including the National Security Memorandum that directed the replacement of the ship’s electromagnetic catapults with steam catapults, made no reference to the ship’s name, instead referring to it as CVN-81. This led to further speculation that there would be an attempt to rename the ship, potentially after Donald Trump. Were this to take place, it would be the first instance of a US Navy aircraft carrier named after a sitting president. Three people familiar with the internal discussions told the network that the Navy is moving to rename the future USS Doris Miller in honor of a Pearl Harbor hero and the first African-American recipient of the Navy Cross. Two sources said internal conversations included renaming the ship to honor Trump, though CNN reported it remains unclear what the Navy intends to call it.Amid those discussions, the Navy has effectively stopped referring to the ship as the Doris Miller internally and has been calling it only by its hull number, CVN-81, one source told CNN. On 25 August 2021, with six members of Doris Miller’s family in attendance, the Navy conducted the First Cut of Steel ceremony at Newport News Shipbuilding, signaling the formal start of construction for the fourth Ford-class aircraft carrier.Blacks can’t allow this to happen. Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of War, is against Black soldiers and women. He has reduced their ranks since Trump took over, but Blacks and women are still serving and dying in worldwide conflicts.  Admiral Nimitz awards the Navy Cross to Doris Miller. He was the first Black man to receive the honor.The Navy Cross is the United States Navy’s second-highest military decoration awarded to sailors and Marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. |
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| President Franklin Roosevelt didn’t invite Olympic champion Jesse Owens to White House because he feared offending White Southern Democrats who supported his campaign. Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, under President Roosevelt, didn’t believe Dorie Miller should be awarded the Medal of Honor. He didn’t believe Black sailors should be involved in combat, although he was when he shot down Japanese fighters. (Knox below) |