05/27/2026
Men and women of the military go “above and beyond the call of duty” every day, and a US Sailor who exemplifies this commitment is Doris “Dorie” Miller.
Born in Waco, Texas, Miller joined the US Navy in 1939. He served as a Mess Attendant, one of the few positions available to a highly segregated naval force. The following year, Miller would be transferred to the USS West Virginia heading to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in response to the increasing Japanese aggression.
On Sunday, December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombs struck. Miller made his way from below deck to the ship’s bridge. He immediately aided a commanding officer and fellow sailors to safety before securing an anti-aircraft gun. Although he had no previous training to operate the weapon, Miller began to shoot at enemy aircraft. Once there was no more ammunition, he proceeded to help evacuate sailors off the ship.
In May of 1942, Mess Attendant Third Class Doris Miller was presented with the Navy Cross by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, making Miller the first black sailor to receive such an honor. He continued to serve in the Navy as a mess attendant until the carrier he was on, USS Liscome Bay, was hit by a torpedo during the Gilbert Islands Campaign. Most of the crew were killed, and Miller was declared killed in action, his body being never recovered, in 1943.
📸 National Archives and Records Administration
