Doris 'Dorie' Miller

Miller is a U.S. Navy mess attendant and cook who earned the Navy Cross during World War 2. He is best known for his heroic actions aboard the battleship West Virginia during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. During the attack, he helped several sailors who were wounded, and he shot down several Japanese planes while manning an anti-aircraft gun for which he hadn't received formal instruction. The resulting publicity for Miller actions in the Black press made him an iconic emblem in the fight for civil rights for Black Americans. He was killed while serving aboard the escort carrier Liscome Bay when it was sunk by a Japanese submarine during the Battle of Makin in the Gilbert Islands. In January 19, 2020, the Navy announced that a Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear powered aircraft carrier, CVN-81, scheduled to be commissioned in 2032 would be named after Miller.