US Navy to name first super carrier after an African American sailor

[hubman]

A Military 1st: A Supercarrier Is Named After An African American Sailor

USS Doris Miller will honor a Black Pearl Harbor hero and key figure in the rise of the civil rights movement. Miller, a sharecropper's son from Waco, Texas, was 22 years old when he created history.

www.npr.org

A Military 1st: A Supercarrier Is Named After An African American Sailor

"During the attack on Pearl Harbor, as his battleship, the USS West Virginia, was sinking, the powerfully built Miller, who was the ship's boxing champion, helped move his dying captain to better cover, then jumped behind a machine gun and shot at Japanese planes until his ammunition was gone.
As a Black sailor in 1941, he wasn't supposed to fire a gun even. This means that when he reached for that weapon, he was taking on two enemies: the Japanese flyers and the pervasive discrimination in his own country."

 

[Tesoro]

A Military 1st: A Supercarrier Is Named After An African American Sailor

USS Doris Miller will honor a Black Pearl Harbor hero and key figure in the rise of the civil rights movement. Miller, a sharecropper's son from Waco, Texas, was 22 years old when he created history.

www.npr.org

A Military 1st: A Supercarrier Is Named After An African American Sailor

"During the attack on Pearl Harbor, as his battleship, the USS West Virginia, was sinking, the powerfully built Miller, who was the ship's boxing champion, helped move his dying captain to better cover, then jumped behind a machine gun and shot at Japanese planes until his ammunition was gone.
As a Black sailor in 1941, he wasn't supposed to fire a gun even. This means that when he reached for that weapon, he was taking on two enemies: the Japanese flyers and the pervasive discrimination in his own country."

Well deserved..but not suprise this is an NPR story.

 

[eastisbest]

give it three days max before someone complains they're using his slave name.

I would pick a nit myself but since Battleships aren't built anymore, it seems a bit less like pandering breaking tradition and naming a carrier.

 

[Zunardo]

As a civilian, I’ve spent time at sea on two carriers, neither named for a president: the Saratoga, and the Carl Vinson. I’d never heard of Vinson before that trip. K

Is Naming the new ship after Doris Miller good Naval PR? Darned right. It also happens to be a very good choice, IMO. I don’t know why anyone would object. Actually, I don’t think many folks really know about his story and why it’s significant No time like the present to honor a true military hero.

 

[Thavoice]

As a civilian, I’ve spent time at sea on two carriers, neither named for a president: the Saratoga, and the Carl Vinson. I’d never heard of Vinson before that trip. K

Is Naming the new ship after Doris Miller good Naval PR? Darned right. It also happens to be a very good choice, IMO. I don’t know why anyone would object. Actually, I don’t think many folks really know about his story and why it’s significant No time like the present to honor a true military hero.

I researched him after eating many meals at a Galley named after him. Very impressive

 

[eastisbest]

As a civilian, I’ve spent time at sea on two carriers, neither named for a president: the Saratoga, and the Carl Vinson. I’d never heard of Vinson before that trip. K

Is Naming the new ship after Doris Miller good Naval PR? Darned right. It also happens to be a very good choice, IMO. I don’t know why anyone would object. Actually, I don’t think many folks really know about his story and why it’s significant No time like the present to honor a true military hero.

the tradition break was naming after non-com.The one that might object would be the sailor himself were he here to give opinion.

As someone who had been on two carriers, you also might have noted a bit of a rivalry amonst sailors based on ships they serve. I was on a Destroyer and it was definitely there. The flats were seen as elitists and there's probably some truth to that I'd say based upon MY experience.

If you're thinking I'd object in anyway with this naming, save yourself some stress. But given a choice, I do wonder if the sailor would have prefered another category ship. I'd suspect it's PR but maybe it was just a matter of the right people working their way high enough in the Navy to get it done. A lot of competitiion for naming.

 

[Zunardo]

the tradition break was naming after non-com.The one that might object would be the sailor himself were he here to give opinion.

Hell, I’m just a civvy. I have no idea what Seaman Miller would have wanted, and I know veterans have a different perspective. But if you’re gonna have something named after you, it might as well be something with “super” in its name - you know, something a bit more upscale than the “Provo Privy”.

Will probably ask my high school buddy (retired USN) what he thinks.

 

[eastisbest]

Will probably ask my high school buddy (retired USN) what he thinks.

bring it back. If his name was to go on a ship (or boat) would he rather a carrier or whatever ship he served if it weren't a carrier.

 

[ohiopup]

What is unusual is that the ship is what one would call 'Capital Ship' or 'Ship of the Line'

U.S. Navy has a naming convection for it's ships...
usually a ship of a Destroyer Classification would have been assigned his name...


Destroyers (DD) / Destroyer Escorts (DE)/ Destroyer leaders (DL) named for Navy and
Marine Corps heroes, with the exception of;
USS Douglas A. Munro (DE-422), named for Douglas Albert Munro the only member of the Coast Guard
to ever receive the Medal of Honor but who was under the command of the US Navy at the time rather
than the peacetime command of the Department of the Treasury.

USS Douglas A. Munro - DE-422 : after USCG Signalman First Class Douglas A.
Munro KIA using the Higgins* boat that he was piloting to shield a landing craft
filled with Marines from Japanese fire.

USNS Montford Point (T-ESD-1), the lead ship of the class, named in honor of African
American Marine Corps recruits who trained at Montford Point Camp (part of Camp
Lejeune), North Carolina, from 1942 to 1949.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montford_Point_Marine_Association

Higgins boat - LCVP were typically crewed by Coast Guard personnel (pilot + a gunner)

:>---

Semper Fi

 

[USA70PP]

My dad, LST in the Pacific, used to say "The difference between a boat and a ship is you can put a boat on a ship but you can't put a ship on a boat."

 

[eastisbest]

well you can but it won't go well.

 

[eastisbest]

As I wrote, it's a small nit to pick. Name the carrier and calling it "special" (pandering cough) to ME seems to diminish the value of naming a different class ship and is not giving the sailor the naming deserved. My view is as Ohio put it. Since there are no Battleships, why not a Destroyer? At least they actually go into Battle.

 

[Zunardo]

bring it back. If his name was to go on a ship (or boat) would he rather a carrier or whatever ship he served if it weren't a carrier.

U.S. Navy has a naming convection for it's ships...
usually a ship of a Destroyer Classification would have been assigned his name...

Just spoke with my buddy, he agrees with the majority here on that point - that a destroyer would be the most appropriate since there are no more battleships.

Then he discussed the naming convention for flattops. His preference is for the legacy names, from before 1968 and earlier.. He tolerates them being named after presidents, but would like to see that done as little as possible or discontinued altogether. And he's firmly against naming them after any other elected officials.

Interesting - I just read somewhere Miller had a frigate named after him in the 1970's, but it went out of service almost 30 years ago.

 

[ohiopup]

...

Interesting - I just read somewhere Miller had a frigate named after him in the 1970's, but it went out of service almost 30 years ago.

Spot-On!

USS Miller FF-1091 (FF - Frigate is the newer designation for DE - Destroyer Escort)

Mrs. Henrietta Miller (mother of Doris Miller), was the sponsor for USS Miller

The USS Miller served from 1973 to 1991 (decommissioned)
FATE...
Stricken from the USN Registry in 1995 and some parts salvaged for spares
Sold to Turkey as a hulk in 1999
Sunk as a target during a war games exercise in 2001.

:>---

Semper Fi

 

[Thavoice]

Been on a couple carriers.... impressive! The one could house my whole home town!

My dad, LST in the Pacific, used to say "The difference between a boat and a ship is you can put a boat on a ship but you can't put a ship on a boat."