Posted on Nov 24, 2017
Doris Miller Memorial "DORIS’ STORY" - YouTube
3.61K
31
13
15
15
0
Dorie Miller (1919-1943), Hero of World War II
Serving in a noncombat role in the Navy, Dorie Miller responded heroically when the battleship West Virginia was attacked at Pearl Harbor
Because the Navy was segregated, African Americans were not given combat roles or weaponry training, so Miller’s adept ability to shoot down enemy planes was all the more remarkable
First African American awarded the U.S. Navy Cross
Doris Miller, known as “Dorie,” was born in Waco, Texas, in 1919. He was one of four sons. After high school, he worked on his father’s farm until 1938 when he enlisted in the Navy as mess attendant (kitchen worker) to earn money for his family. At that time the Navy was segregated so combat positions were not open to African-Americans.
On December 7, 1941, Dorie arose at 6 a.m. to begin work. When the Japanese attack occurred, he immediately reported to his assigned battle station. Miller was a former football player and a Navy boxing champ so his job was to carry any of the injured to safer quarters; this included the mortally wounded ship’s captain.
Miller then returned to deck and saw that the Japanese planes were still dive-bombing the U.S. Naval Fleet. He picked up a 50-caliber Browning antiaircraft machine gun on which he had never been trained and managed to shoot down three to four enemy aircraft. (In the chaos of the attack, reports varied, and not even Miller was sure how many he hit.) He fired until he ran out of ammunition; by then the men were being ordered to abandon ship. The West Virginia had been severely damaged and was slowly sinking to the harbor bottom. Of the 1541 men on board during the attack, 130 were killed and 52 wounded.
The original newspaper reports noted that a “Negro messman” had behaved heroically. The editors at the Pittsburgh Courier, one of the country’s most widely circulated black newspapers, pounced on that and sent a reporter out to identify the hero. Had this newspaper not been on the case, Dorie Miller probably would never have been identified.
On April 1, 1942 Miller was commended by the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, and on May 27, 1942 he received the Navy Cross for his extraordinary courage in battle. His rank was raised to Mess Attendant First Class on June 1, 1942.
As happened with other war heroes, Dorie Miller was then sent on a tour in the States to raise money for war bonds, but Miller he was soon called back (spring ’43) to serve on the new escort carrier the USS Liscome Bay. The ship was operating in the Pacific near the Gilbert Islands. At 5:10 a.m. on November 24, the ship was hit by a single torpedo fired from a Japanese submarine. The torpedo detonated the bomb magazine on the carrier; the bombs exploded, and the ship sank within minutes. Miller was initially listed as missing; by November 1944 he status was changed to “presumed dead.” Only 272 men survived the attack.
Today there is a Dorie Miller park in Hawaii and a good number of schools and buildings throughout the U.S. are named in his honor. He was also one of four Naval heroes featured on U.S. postal stamps in 2010.
However, many officers and men in the Navy felt that for his actions on the West Virginia at Pearl Harbor, Miller deserved more—that he should have been awarded the Medal of Honor.
https://americacomesalive.com/2012/02/20/dorie-miller-1919-1943-hero-of-world-war-ii/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/ngbeyond/people/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doris_Miller
Additional video footage :
https://youtu.be/XCF9_DXegbE
https://youtu.be/bM0LYxqZvmo
@ col mikel COL Mikel J. Burroughs @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen F. @ ltc wayne LTC Wayne Brandon @ ltc frank LTC (Join to see) @ ltc jeff LTC Jeff Shearer @ maj william @ capt marty Maj Marty Hogan @ smsgt doc SMSgt Minister Gerald A. "Doc" Thomas @ tsgt joe TSgt Joe C. @ sra christopher SrA Christopher Wright @ msg andrew MSG Andrew White @ sfc joe SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL @ ssg robert SSG Robert Webster @ sgt jim SGT Jim Arnold @ sgt david SGT (Join to see) @ sgt david SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth @ sp5 mark SP5 Mark Kuzinski @ spc margaret SPC Margaret Higgins @ po1 tony PO1 Tony Holland Alan K. PO2 Robert M.
Serving in a noncombat role in the Navy, Dorie Miller responded heroically when the battleship West Virginia was attacked at Pearl Harbor
Because the Navy was segregated, African Americans were not given combat roles or weaponry training, so Miller’s adept ability to shoot down enemy planes was all the more remarkable
First African American awarded the U.S. Navy Cross
Doris Miller, known as “Dorie,” was born in Waco, Texas, in 1919. He was one of four sons. After high school, he worked on his father’s farm until 1938 when he enlisted in the Navy as mess attendant (kitchen worker) to earn money for his family. At that time the Navy was segregated so combat positions were not open to African-Americans.
On December 7, 1941, Dorie arose at 6 a.m. to begin work. When the Japanese attack occurred, he immediately reported to his assigned battle station. Miller was a former football player and a Navy boxing champ so his job was to carry any of the injured to safer quarters; this included the mortally wounded ship’s captain.
Miller then returned to deck and saw that the Japanese planes were still dive-bombing the U.S. Naval Fleet. He picked up a 50-caliber Browning antiaircraft machine gun on which he had never been trained and managed to shoot down three to four enemy aircraft. (In the chaos of the attack, reports varied, and not even Miller was sure how many he hit.) He fired until he ran out of ammunition; by then the men were being ordered to abandon ship. The West Virginia had been severely damaged and was slowly sinking to the harbor bottom. Of the 1541 men on board during the attack, 130 were killed and 52 wounded.
The original newspaper reports noted that a “Negro messman” had behaved heroically. The editors at the Pittsburgh Courier, one of the country’s most widely circulated black newspapers, pounced on that and sent a reporter out to identify the hero. Had this newspaper not been on the case, Dorie Miller probably would never have been identified.
On April 1, 1942 Miller was commended by the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, and on May 27, 1942 he received the Navy Cross for his extraordinary courage in battle. His rank was raised to Mess Attendant First Class on June 1, 1942.
As happened with other war heroes, Dorie Miller was then sent on a tour in the States to raise money for war bonds, but Miller he was soon called back (spring ’43) to serve on the new escort carrier the USS Liscome Bay. The ship was operating in the Pacific near the Gilbert Islands. At 5:10 a.m. on November 24, the ship was hit by a single torpedo fired from a Japanese submarine. The torpedo detonated the bomb magazine on the carrier; the bombs exploded, and the ship sank within minutes. Miller was initially listed as missing; by November 1944 he status was changed to “presumed dead.” Only 272 men survived the attack.
Today there is a Dorie Miller park in Hawaii and a good number of schools and buildings throughout the U.S. are named in his honor. He was also one of four Naval heroes featured on U.S. postal stamps in 2010.
However, many officers and men in the Navy felt that for his actions on the West Virginia at Pearl Harbor, Miller deserved more—that he should have been awarded the Medal of Honor.
https://americacomesalive.com/2012/02/20/dorie-miller-1919-1943-hero-of-world-war-ii/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/ngbeyond/people/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doris_Miller
Additional video footage :
https://youtu.be/XCF9_DXegbE
https://youtu.be/bM0LYxqZvmo
@ col mikel COL Mikel J. Burroughs @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen F. @ ltc wayne LTC Wayne Brandon @ ltc frank LTC (Join to see) @ ltc jeff LTC Jeff Shearer @ maj william @ capt marty Maj Marty Hogan @ smsgt doc SMSgt Minister Gerald A. "Doc" Thomas @ tsgt joe TSgt Joe C. @ sra christopher SrA Christopher Wright @ msg andrew MSG Andrew White @ sfc joe SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL @ ssg robert SSG Robert Webster @ sgt jim SGT Jim Arnold @ sgt david SGT (Join to see) @ sgt david SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth @ sp5 mark SP5 Mark Kuzinski @ spc margaret SPC Margaret Higgins @ po1 tony PO1 Tony Holland Alan K. PO2 Robert M.
WWII World War Two
Military History
American History
Death
Waco
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 6
4
4
0
3
3
0
Pearl Harbour, 1941. december 7.
Thanks SGT John " Mac " McConnell for reminding us of the heroism of Seaman Doris Miller on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor aboard the battleship USS West Virginia.
Doris "Dorie" Miller, Messmen Third Class. Noted for his bravery during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross. During the attack, Miller tended a 50 cal. Browning when the original gunner was killed. He stood his ground and fired until all ammunition was depleted. Nearly two years later, he was killed in action when USS Liscome Bay was sunk by a Japanese submarine during the Battle of Makin.
Images: 1941-12-07 Seaman Doris Miller was serving as a mess attendant aboard the battleship on that fateful morning on the USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor; Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the U.S. Navy commander in chief in the Pacific, pins the Distinguished Service Medal Cross on Seaman Doris Miller; 1973 Navnews newsletter, August 10, 1973, pages 2-3 Doris Miller; Rescuing survivors near the USS West Virginia after the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
Kudos to Seaman Doris Miller.
Pearl Harbor, 1941. December 7. with "The End" by The Doors as the soundtrack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLo5ayScEjU
The carnage of Peal Harbor on that fateful day seen in black and white without sound is sobering as for me it is easy to imagine the horrific sounds, terrible smells, and acrid smoke in the eyes on that fateful December day.
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Wayne Brandon LTC Bill Koski Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown Maj Marty Hogan SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SPC Margaret Higgins MSgt Jason McClish AN Christopher Crayne SPC Tom DeSmet SGT Charles H. Hawes SGT (Join to see) SGT Michael Thorin
Doris "Dorie" Miller, Messmen Third Class. Noted for his bravery during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross. During the attack, Miller tended a 50 cal. Browning when the original gunner was killed. He stood his ground and fired until all ammunition was depleted. Nearly two years later, he was killed in action when USS Liscome Bay was sunk by a Japanese submarine during the Battle of Makin.
Images: 1941-12-07 Seaman Doris Miller was serving as a mess attendant aboard the battleship on that fateful morning on the USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor; Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the U.S. Navy commander in chief in the Pacific, pins the Distinguished Service Medal Cross on Seaman Doris Miller; 1973 Navnews newsletter, August 10, 1973, pages 2-3 Doris Miller; Rescuing survivors near the USS West Virginia after the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
Kudos to Seaman Doris Miller.
Pearl Harbor, 1941. December 7. with "The End" by The Doors as the soundtrack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLo5ayScEjU
The carnage of Peal Harbor on that fateful day seen in black and white without sound is sobering as for me it is easy to imagine the horrific sounds, terrible smells, and acrid smoke in the eyes on that fateful December day.
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Wayne Brandon LTC Bill Koski Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown Maj Marty Hogan SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SPC Margaret Higgins MSgt Jason McClish AN Christopher Crayne SPC Tom DeSmet SGT Charles H. Hawes SGT (Join to see) SGT Michael Thorin
(3)
(0)
3
3
0
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google