U.S. Navy To Honor Doris Miller With An Aircraft Carrier!

Doris "Dorie" Miller will be honored by the United States Navy. He will honored on a battlecraft carrier.

An African American naval officer becomes a part of history. His name will be christened on a U.S. naval battleship.

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."

While doing laundry, Dorie Miller had heard an alarm. He saw the sneak attack from the Japanese Imperial Army and took action into his own hands. He operated a gunner with no experience and managed to save lives.

Miller would end up missing in action (presumed dead). After training in Hawai'i, the battle carrier Liscome Bay took part in the Battle of Makin. The ship was struck by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine I-175. The aircraft bomb blew a hole in the carrier and it began to sink. The crew of 900 tired to abandoned ship. Only 272 survivors managed to escape the downing of the Liscome Bay.

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.