Doris "Dorie" Miller will be honored by the United States Navy. He will honored on a battlecraft carrier. |
Doris "Dorie" Miller was an American Messman Third Class in the U.S. Navy. During the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Miller manned anti-aircraft guns for which he had no training and helped the wounded. The actions he rendered earned him the Navy Cross medal.
He was awarded the Navy Cross by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz in 1942 for honorary service.
Miller was considered on of the "first heroes of World War II."
So its told that Miller and his fellow sailors are buried at sea in Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands).
The announcement is expected to be made at Pearl Harbor Monday, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Friday.
USS Miller, a destroyer escort, was previously named in his honor.
"I think that Doris Miller is an American hero simply because of what he represents as a young man going beyond the call of what’s expected," said Doreen Ravenscroft, a team leader for the Doris Miller Memorial.
An African American was not allowed to man a gun in the Navy in 1941, Ravenscroft said.
"Without him really knowing, he actually was a part of the Civil Rights movement because he changed the thinking in the Navy," Ravenscroft said.
Two of Miller's nieces are expected to be at Pearl Harbor for the announcement on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Miller, then 22, was collecting laundry when the attack alarm sounded. His normal battle station in an antiaircraft battery magazine was destroyed by a torpedo. He went on deck and carried wounded soldiers to safety before receiving orders to aid the mortally wounded captain on the bridge.
"He subsequently manned a 50-cal. Browning anti-aircraft machine gun until he ran out of ammunition and was ordered to abandon ship," the Navy said, noting Miller was not trained to operate the gun.
Miller was 24 years old at the time of his death.
He is the first African American to be honored in such a fashion.
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