Doris Miller
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Doris Miller | |
|---|---|
| 12 October 1919 - 24 November 1943 | |
  |
|
| Nickname | "Dorie" |
| Place of birth | Waco, Texas |
| Place of death | Gilbert Islands, South Pacific |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 4 |
| Rank | Cook 3rd Class |
| Battles/wars | Attack on Pearl Harbor Battle of Tarawa Operation Galvanic |
| Awards | Navy Cross Purple Heart American Defense Service Medal Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal World War II Victory Medal |
Doris "Dorie" Miller (October 12, 1919 – November 24, 1943) was an African American cook in the United States Navy and a hero during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest honor that can be awarded by the US Navy, after the Medal of Honor.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Early life and career
Miller was born in Waco, Texas, on October 12, 1919, to Henrietta and Connery Miller. He was the third of four sons and grew up in a strong and loving household. He enjoyed playing with his brothers but was also a considerate child. He often helped around the house, cooking meals and doing laundry, as well as working the fields. Miller was a good student and a fullback on the football team at Waco's A.J. Moore High School. They called him the "Raging Bull" because of his size (5'9", over 200 lbs).
He worked on his father's farm until enlisting in the United States Navy as Mess Attendant, Third Class in September 1939.[2] Following training at the Naval Training Station, Norfolk, Virginia, Miller was assigned to the ammunition ship USS Pyro (AE-1) where he served as a Mess Attendant, and on 2 January 1940 was transferred to USS West Virginia (BB-48), where he became the ship's heavyweight boxing champion. In July of that year he had temporary duty aboard USS Nevada (BB-36) at Secondary Battery Gunnery School. He returned to the USS West Virginia on 3 August 1941.[3]
[edit] Attack on Pearl Harbor
Miller awoke at 6:00 A.M. and was collecting laundry when the alarm for general quarters was sounded. He headed for his battle station, the antiaircraft battery magazine amidship, only to discover that torpedo damage had wrecked it, so he went on deck where he was assigned to carry wounded fellow sailors to safer locations. When Captain Mervyn Bennion was injured by a bomb splinter, an officer ordered Miller to the bridge to help in the futile effort to move him to a place of relative safety. Miller picked him up and carried him to a first-aid station.
When directed to assist in loading a pair of unattended Browning .50 caliber anti-aircraft guns, Miller took control of one of them and began firing at the attacking Japanese planes, even though he had no prior training in operating the weapon; he eventually ran out of ammunition. Japanese aircraft dropped two armored piercing bombs through the deck of the battleship and launched five 18-inch aircraft torpedoes into her port side. Heavily damaged by the ensuing explosions, and suffering from severe flooding below decks, the West Virginia slowly settled to the harbor bottom as her crew abandoned ship.[4]
[edit] Call for recognition
The 1941 Honor Roll of Race Relations named an "unknown Negro mess man"[5]and on 12 March, 1942, Dr. Lawrence D. Reddick announced, after corresponding with the Navy, that he found the name was "Doris Miller." The next day, US Senator James M. Mead introduced a Senate Bill to award Miller the Medal of Honor, without knowing what Miller’s deeds were for the basis of such award.
On 14 March 1942, The Pittsburgh Courier released a story that named the black mess man as "Dorie" Miller. On 17 March Representative John D. Dingell, Democrat from Michigan, introduced a matching bill as the one in the US Senate to award to Miller the Medal of Honor. On 21 March, The Pittsburgh Courier initiated a write-in campaign to send Miller to the Naval Academy.
Letters of Commendations from the Secretary of the Navy were finally issued. Miller’s commendation of 1 April 1942, cited his "distinguished devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and disregard of his personal safety during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. While at the side of his Captain on the bridge, Miller despite enemy strafing and bombing, and in the face of 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 until ordered to leave the bridge."
The Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, sent a letter, on 9 April to the US House of Representatives Chairman of Naval Affairs, which outlined the requirements of the Medal of Honor versus the deeds of Miller, and recommended against an award of the Medal of Honor.
During the All-Southern Negro Youth Conference of 17 April a signature campaign was launched to give proper recognition to Doris Miller. Miller’s parents were brought to the conference and awarded a $100 defense bond.
On 10 May, the National Negro Congress denounced Frank Knox’s recommendation to decline the Medal of Honor for Miller. But the next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved the Navy Cross, the Navy’s highest medal, for Miller.[5]
Finally, on May 27, 1942, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz personally awarded Miller the Navy Cross aboard Enterprise (CV-6). In his address, Nimitz remarked that "This marks the first time in this conflict that such high tribute has been made in the Pacific Fleet to a member of his race and I'm sure the future will see others similarly honored for brave acts." Only one month earlier, after intense pressure from desegregation advocates and liberal politicians, on April 7, 1942, Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox had issued a directive that African Americans were to be enlisted in general service in the Navy, though "it and the other armed forces remained strictly segregated."
[edit] World War II
Miller’s rank was raised to Mess Attendant First Class on 1 June. On 27 June, The Pittsburgh Courier called for Miller to be allowed to return home for a war bond tour like white heroes. The following 23 November, Miller arrived to Pearl Harbor, and was ordered on a war bond tour while still attached to USS Indianapolis. In December and January he gave talks in Oakland, California; in his home town of Waco, Texas; in Dallas; and to the first graduating class of Negro sailors from Great Lakes Naval Training Station, Chicago.
The Pittsburgh Courier continued to hammer to return Miller for a war bond tour in the 6 February 1943 issue. The caption to Miller’s photo read, "He fought...Keeps Mop", while another hero of Pearl Harbor got a commission. It said that Miller was "too important waiting tables in the Pacific to return him", even though he was already on tour.
Doris Miller reported for duty at Puget Sound Navy Yard on 15 May 1943. His rank was again raised to Officer’s Cook Third Class on 1 June (although some sources, including the Naval Historical Center's website erroneously identify him as a "ship's" cook), and he reported to USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56), an aircraft carrier. After training in Hawaii for the Gilbert Islands operation, the Liscome Bay participated in the Battle of Tarawa beginning 20 November. On 24 November, a single torpedo from Japanese submarine I-175 struck the escort carrier near the stern. The aircraft bomb magazine detonated a few moments later, sinking the warship within minutes. There were 242 survivors. The rest of the crew was listed as "presumed dead". On 7 December 1943, Mr. & Mrs. Conery Miller were notified their son was "Missing in Action."
A memorial service was held on 30 April 1944, at the Waco, Texas, Second Baptist Church, sponsored by the Victory Club. On 28 May, a granite marker was dedicated at Moore High School to honor Miller. On 25 November 1944, The Secretary of Navy announced that Miller was "presumed dead."[6]
[edit] Memorials
- USS Miller (FF-1091) a Knox-class frigate was commissioned on 30 June 1973 in honor of Miller.
- The Doris Miller Foundation was founded 1947, to give an annual award to the individual or group considered outstanding in the field of race relations.
- The Bachelor Enlisted Quarters at Great Lakes Naval Base was dedicated to Miller’s memory on 7 December 1971.
- A monument dedicated to Miller is at the Waco Veterans Medical Center, Waco, Texas
- Doris Miller Drive - located at the Waco Veterans Medical Center.
- Dorie Miller Center - A former shopping center located in San Antonio, Texas.
- Dorie Miller Elementary School - located in San Antonio, Texas.
- Dorie Miller Elementary School - located in San Diego, California
- Doris Miller Junior High School - located in San Marcos, Texas
- Doris Miller Auditorium - located in Austin, TX
- Doris Miller Community Center - A recreation facility located in Newport News, Virginia
- Doris Miller Park - a housing community for junior officers located at Pearl Harbor
- Doris Miller Post 915 - an American Legion post located in Chicago
- On October 11, 1991, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority dedicated a bronze commemorative plaque of Miller at the Miller Family Park located on the U.S. Naval Base, Pearl Harbor.
[edit] Popular culture
- 1942 - Miller's actions were dramatized on the CBS radio series They Live Forever
- 1970 - Miller was portrayed by Elven Havard in the film Tora! Tora! Tora!.
- 2001 - Miller was portrayed by Cuba Gooding Jr. in the film Pearl Harbor
Miller was also featured in the U.S. Navy World War II recruiting poster "Above and beyond the call of duty".
[edit] References
- ^ Ship's Cook Third Class Doris Miller, USN. United States Naval Historical Center. U.S. Navy.
- ^ Ship's Cook Third Class Doris "Dorie" Miller. National Geographic.
- ^ Ship's Cook Third Class Doris Miller, USN. Medal Of Honor.com.
- ^ Ship's Cook Third Class Doris Miller, USN. United States Naval Historical Center. US Navy.
- ^ a b Doris Miller and his Navy Cross: a brief biography. David Aiken. Pearl Harbor History Associates, Inc.
- ^ Ship's Cook Third Class Doris Miller, USN. United States Naval Historical Center. US Navy.
[edit] External links
Categories: 1919 births | 1943 deaths | People from Waco, Texas | African Americans | American people of World War II | Attack on Pearl Harbor | Black history in the United States military | Navy Cross recipients | Recipients of the Purple Heart medal | United States Navy sailors | People from Texas
