A Naval Hero
"Above and Beyond the Call of Duty--
Dorie Miller Receives the Navy Cross
at Pearl Harbor, May 27, 1942"
Color offset poster, no. 68
Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1943
Prints & Photographs
Division (58.5)
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On December 7, 1941, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor,
Mess Attendant Doris "Dorie" Miller came to the aid of
his shipmates on the U.S.S. West Virginia, helping to move the injured
out of harm's way, including the mortally wounded captain. Though
untrained in its use, Miller also manned an antiaircraft machine
gun, downing several Japanese planes before being ordered to abandon
the sinking ship. Miller's courage and devotion to duty at Pearl
Harbor earned him the Navy Cross, the first ever awarded to an African
American sailor. This honor is even greater in light of the fact
African Americans were only allowed to serve in the messman's branch
of the Navy at the time. Though later killed in action in 1943,
Miller's legacy of bravery in the face of great danger and discrimination
lives on.
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