Navy discusses renaming aircraft carrier after Trump instead of heroic Black sailor - NBC News

Doris Miller was a mess attendant aboard a U.S. Ship during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II. With no formal training on anti-aircraft weapons, he grabbed a gun during the attack, is credited with shooting down at least one Japanese plane, and dragged wounded sailors to safety. He was the first Black service member to receive the Navy Cross, the Navy's second-highest honor.

The proposed rename would pull the ship's dedication away from one of the most decorated enlisted sailors in American military history. Miller earned his honor under fire, during one of the deadliest surprise attacks ever carried out on U.S. Soil, at a time when Black service members faced formal segregation within the military ranks. Reassigning that ship's name strips a rare and hard-fought piece of recognition from that history.

No final decision has been reported, and it is not clear how far along the discussions are or who is driving them inside Navy leadership.

Miller received the Navy Cross in 1942. The U.S. Navy did not fully desegregate until President Truman's executive order six years later.