U.S. Navy To Name Aircraft Carrier After WWII Hero Doris Miller
Miller was a mess attendant on the West Virginia when he jumped in to man a machine gun during the Pearl Harbor attack. He is the first African American to have an aircraft carrier named after him.
The U.S. Navy says it will name an aircraft carrier after Doris "Dorie" Miller, the African American mess attendant who heroically leapt into combat during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It marks the first time that an aircraft carrier has been named for an African American, and the first time a sailor has been so honored for actions taken as an enlisted man.
In 1941, Miller was in the messman branch â work that swabbing decks, cooking and shining officers' shoes.
