USS Doris Miller

[ORAC]

https://news.usni.org/2020/01/18/next-ford-class-carrier-to-be-named-after-pearl-harbor-hero-doris-miller

Next Ford-class Carrier to be Named After Pearl Harbor Hero Doris Miller

The fourth Ford-class carrier will be named in honor of World War II icon Doris Miller, the first black recipient of the Navy Cross, Navy officials confirmed to USNI News on Saturday. The naming of CVN-81 is expected to be announced during a Monday ceremony in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, USNI News has learned.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser (https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/01/17/hawaii-news/navy-to-name-aircraft-carrier-for-pearl-harbor-hero-doris-miller/) first reported the news of the ceremony and the carrier name on Saturday.

Modly wanted to name the carrier after a Navy hero and landed on Miller after extensive conversations with current and former Navy leaders, two sources familiar with the process told USNI News. The name was floated to both the White House and Congress with no pushback, the sources confirmed.

Miller was widely recognized as one of the first U.S. heroes of World War II and his legacy has been a touchstone for African American sailors in the service. “Without him really knowing, he actually was a part of the civil rights movement because he changed the thinking in the Navy,” Doreen Ravenscroft, with the Doris Miller Memorial (https://dorismillermemorial.org/) in Waco, Texas, told the Star-Advertiser.

During the Imperial Japanese Navy attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, then Mess Attendant 3rd Class Miller took charge of an anti-aircraft battery on USS West Virginia (BB-48) firing on enemy aircraft until running out of ammunition. “It wasn’t hard. I just pulled the trigger and she worked fine,” Miller recalled after the battle (https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/biographies-list/bios-m/miller-doris.html). “I guess I fired her for about fifteen minutes. I think I got one of those Jap planes. They were diving pretty close to us.”

Then he assisted the battleship’s commander and several others off the ship before it sank. For his actions, he received the Navy Cross in 1942 presented by Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz on the deck of WWII carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6).

“For distinguished devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and disregard for his own personal safety during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941,” read his citation for the Navy Cross. “While at the side of his Captain on the bridge, Miller, despite enemy strafing and bombing and in the face of a serious fire, assisted in moving his Captain, who had been mortally wounded, to a place of greater safety, and later manned and operated a machine gun directed at enemy Japanese attacking aircraft until ordered to leave the bridge.”

Miller continued to serve in the Navy until 1943 when he was killed by a Japanese torpedo attack on escort carrier USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56).

Naming an aircraft carrier for an enlisted sailor is a break from the naming trends in the past several decades.

“Aircraft carriers are generally named for past U.S. Presidents. Of the past 14, 10 were named for past U.S. Presidents, and two for Members of Congress,” according to the Congressional Research Service (https://news.usni.org/2020/01/01/report-to-congress-on-u-s-navy-ship-names-6). The exceptions have been USS Nimitz (CVN-68) named for Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz and the future Ford-class carrier Enterprise (CVN-80) which will be the ninth U.S. warship to bear the name since the American Revolutionary War.

Previous to the planned carrier, the Knox-class frigate USS Miller (FF-1091) was named in honor of Miller.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/898x892/image_b322e32e57840b583c1de327c2c25723850be45d.jpeg

[Asturias56]

Big break in tradition - the last US Fleet Carrier named after a war Hero was CV-19 Hancock(he of the signature fame) back in 1942 (of course JKF has been on CVA-67 and CVN-79 but he was also President)

Better than naming them after politicians IMHO

[MPN11]

A bit OTT if Miller already has a ship bearing his name.

[Chris Kebab]

A bit OTT if Miller already has a ship bearing his name.
Strange view - why?

It was decommissioned over twenty years ago. Plenty of ships' names are carried forward.

[Asturias56]

Strange view - why?

It was decommissioned over twenty years ago. Plenty of ships' names are carried forward.

Precisely..................

Enterprise CVAN-65 Decommissioned end 2012 CVN-80 to be launched 2025
JFK CVA-67 Decommissioned Oct 2007 CVN-79 launched October 2019

[turbidus]

I helped bring the USS Missouri out of mothballs in the early 80's.

[MPN11]

Point taken on renewing the ahip’s name. My bad for not Googling the previous frigate.

[SASless]

Bit of perspective is worthwhile here.

At the time of Pearl Harbor....Black Americans were treated very much differently than today.

Back then they were Cooks, Bakers, Stewards, and Stevedores in the Navy and were generally not allowed into the more standard kinds of jobs (Rates).

For a Black Serviceman to be awarded the Navy Cross for Gallantry was very unusual.

Miller, initially was awarded the Navy Cross then later it was upgraded to the Medal of Honor for his actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

That he was killed in action aboard the Escort Carrier Liscombe Bay is ironic if you understand the gallantry demonstrated by the US Navy during the defensive action of the fleet unit known as Taffy 3.

I recommend your reading "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" by James Hornfischer....it is a very sobering description of three Destroyers and six Destroyer Escorts supported by some Escort Carrier Air Wings taking on Japanese Battleships, Cruisers, and lots of Destroyers.

It is good that the Navy has named another ship for Miller.....but personally I would have preferred it had been a Destroyer as they carry forward that reputation of being fighting ships that directly engage the enemy.

In the 1980's I had the privilege of walking the decks of many of the ships that were named for ships that were part of the Task Force that engaged the Japanese...thus carrying on their names.

The "Sammy B" (USS Samuel B. Roberts) was always my favorite.

[Asturias56]

what was interesting about Miller is that he could have ducked out but kept going back and putting himself in harms way

Given that he was very very low on the totem pole that shows serious commitment. Maybe they WERE looking to recognise a Black sailor for political reasons but you can't say he wasn't a really brave man...........

Of course this time they may be trying to move away from politicians - given the standard of the last 30 years

USS Bill Clinton, USS Donald Trump .... doesn't look terribly inspiring to me , :(

[Good Vibs]

Well said Asturias56.
And yes, all you need is US Navy ships being named after military draft dodgers!

[tdracer]

I like it - I was aware of the story of Miller's heroism during the Pearl Harbor attack but didn't remember his name (granted, I've always been bad at names). But I'm also something of a student of military history - particularly WW II in the Pacific (my dad fought in the US Infantry in the Pacific). I think getting his story front and center by naming a carrier after him is a good thing.
It's certainly better than when they named a navy ship for Cesar Chavez...

[SASless]

Beat me to it....we have had a few SecNav's in the past that were a total embarrassment and insult when it came to naming of ships.

I absolutely wanted to puke when the USS John Murtha got named for that sleazy, crooked, thieving John (sounds of spitting heard) Murtha.

https://news.usni.org/2013/04/23/twenty-six-us-navy-ship-naming-controversies

[tdracer]

BTW SASless, not to be anal, but Liscome Bay was not part of Taffy 3. It was sunk (and Doris Miller killed) when it was torpedoed and exploded off Makin atoll in November 1943 (Gilbert Islands).
I knew something didn't line up if Miller died in 1943, since the Taffy 3 encounter happened after the initial US landings in the Philippines in 1944 (so I did a little research).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liscome_Bay

[cats_five]

what was interesting about Miller is that he could have ducked out but kept going back and putting himself in harms way

Given that he was very very low on the totem pole that shows serious commitment. Maybe they WERE looking to recognise a Black sailor for political reasons but you can't say he wasn't a really brave man...........

Of course this time they may be trying to move away from politicians - given the standard of the last 30 years

USS Bill Clinton, USS Donald Trump .... doesn't look terribly inspiring to me , :(

USS Donald trump would sink under all the bling

[sharpend]

I think this is a brilliant idea. Far too many senior officers and high ranking people get the big medals and ships named after them. This guy was a hero. He deserves to be remembered. Not sure why they mention his colour. As far as I am concerned he was just a very brave human being.

[Asturias56]

"Not sure why they mention his colour."

IIRC there was a big push at the time to recognise the bravery of "people of colour" (to use the hideous modern phrase) at Pearl. It wasn't that they weren't brave - they really were - but in past conflicts their contribution been ignored to a large degree - often deliberately.........................

[Tech Guy]

USS Donald trump would sink under all the bling
Would they need to paint it orange?

[SASless]

TD,

You are correct.....I confused the USS Gambier Bay for the USS Liscome Bay.

Escort Carriers...of which there where many....quite a few were named for "Bays".

As I grow older....these Senior Moments are becoming far too frequent.


http://www.ww2pacific.com/cve.html

[Evalu8ter]

Future crews are going to have to call 'Miller Time!' at the RTB point in a sortie….

I think it's a superb choice, for any number of reasons. I think shifting the naming of capital ships away from fallible politicians is a good thing - especially when they're still alive. George Bush Snr, as an ex-naval aviator, was a different story, as is naming a nuclear sub after Jimmy Carter (an ex-nuclear submariner) but I really struggle with the thought of a USS Clinton (although, of course, ships are full of seamen…) or a USS Trump - though, perhaps, some greasy Oiler may be apropos. I'd have no problem with a USS Obama; it would probably get a Nobel Prize within 6 months of commissioning….

[sandiego89]

I was surprised by the MILLER naming, but have no issue with it. Like some others I would think a destroyer would have been more in keeping with tradition, and appropriate, but I think long term it will be worn with pride by her crew. As for carrier naming with the Nimitz and Ford classes, STENNIS and VINSON should have never happened (and other politicians in other classes). The presidential names have been fine to date, but like Evau8er above I have worry over some future names that may be done for politics. Most the recent carrier names were presidents, many with ties to Naval aviation or Naval service in their careers (BUSH, FORD, pending JFK).

To avoid politics entirely, perhaps a return to "real" names of distinction. Recycling ENTERPRISE is fantastic, WASP and KEARSARGE are spoken for, but RANGER, CORAL SEA, SARATOGA, INDEPENDENCE, LANGLEY, KITTY HAWK and CONSTELLATION, etc. are available as are MIDWAY and HORNET and others but probably not best to confuse them with the museum ships.

[weemonkey]

A brave sailor whose actions certainly deserve [re] highlighting, especially as we now recognise [hopefully] the conditions he [they] served under.

"To avoid politics entirely, perhaps a return to "real" names of distinction. Recycling ENTERPRISE is fantastic, WASP and KEARSARGE are spoken for, but RANGER, CORAL SEA, SARATOGA, INDEPENDENCE, LANGLEY, KITTY HAWK and CONSTELLATION, etc. are available as are MIDWAY and HORNET and others but probably not best to confuse them with the museum ships"

100% this!!

[Asturias56]

I think that's a good scheme for all Navies TBH.........................

[fdr]

I think that's a good scheme for all Navies TBH.........................

Even the Russian Navy; they could at least call one of their pump out scows after their BFF.

The: Президент Дональд Фредович Дж. Трамп

[Asturias56]

:E
to save everyone the effort:-
President Donald Fredovich J. Trump

[Union Jack]

A brave sailor whose actions certainly deserve [re] highlighting, especially as we now recognise [hopefully] the conditions he [they] served under.

"To avoid politics entirely, perhaps a return to "real" names of distinction. Recycling ENTERPRISE is fantastic, WASP and KEARSARGE are spoken for, but RANGER, CORAL SEA, SARATOGA, INDEPENDENCE, LANGLEY, KITTY HAWK and CONSTELLATION, etc. are available as are MIDWAY and HORNET and others but probably not best to confuse them with the museum ships"

100% this!!

Another 100% from me. There is also an interestingly different slant on the story to be found at https://face2faceafrica.com/article/doris-miller-wwii-hero-becomes-first-black-man-to-be-named-after-u-s-aircraft-carrier

Jack

[Buster11]

Interesting strap line on that article. "First black man to be named after US aircraft carrier". Somehow I thought it was 'tother way around...

[skydiver69]

I just found this on YouTube and thought that it would be of interest to people reading this thread as it is a recent CBS news story about Miller and how his name was chosen for the new carrier. . https://youtu.be/NPIHx_fik-0

[Asturias56]

I just found this on YouTube and thought that it would be of interest to people reading this thread as it is a recent CBS news story about Miller and how his name was chosen for the new carrier. . https://youtu.be/NPIHx_fik-0


very interesting - many thanks..................

[Herod]

Inspirational.