Doris “Dorie” Miller was never supposed to be a hero on Dec. 7, 1941. That was by design.
The U.S. Navy of the World War II era judged African American men by the color of their skin, not the content of their character. Black men were largely relegated to the kitchen as mess attendants and cooks, but somehow Miller foiled that plan on a day that President Franklin D. Roosevelt said “would live in infamy.”
On that morning, the son of Waco sharecroppers was performing wake-up call duties and collecting dirty laundry. Before that fateful day had ended, Doris “Dorie” Miller (he was named Doris because the midwife who assisted his mother was convinced the baby would be a girl) would show his country that the skills he possessed were larger than anything a 1940s America could have imagined.
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The America of 1941 relegated African Americans to second-class citizenship. The military would reflect that status. In the months prior to American entry, when it became clear that war was on the horizon, the U.S. gradually began to prepare for war. A peacetime draft was implemented in 1940, and the defense industry started to kick into high gear by 1941.
Black American political and civil rights leaders demanded a share of the pie. A legendary labor leader and one of the godfathers of the civil rights movement, A. Philip Randolph, threatened a march on Washington if the defense industry continued to deny jobs to Black Americans. Realizing this could be a major PR disaster for the United States, Roosevelt signed an executive order banning discrimination in the defense industry. Civil rights leaders had less success with the military, which refused to admit African Americans in combat-related roles in the early years of the war.
The warship that Miller was assigned to on Dec. 7, 1941, was the USS West Virginia. Commissioned in December of 1923, the “Wee-Vee” was fitted with the latest naval technology and architecture of the time. She was stationed near what would become the center of the carnage at Pearl Harbor, in an area on the naval base known as Battleship Row. She would suffer a heavy punishment and high casualties, but due to the actions of her outstanding crew, the West Virginia would fight back with a vengeance.
Dorie Miller was part of that outstanding crew.
Although the West Virginia was fitted with an array of weapons, Miller was not trained on how to fire any of them. The gun to which he was assigned to help load ammunition was damaged by Japanese torpedoes. As the ferocious attack continued, he made his way to another part of the ship to await further orders. The ship’s communications officer ordered Miller to help move a mortally wounded Capt. Mervyn Bennion to safety.
Later, Miller was asked to help load one of the anti-aircraft guns. When the communications officer who gave that order became distracted, he looked back and saw Miller firing one of the guns, as though he had done it all his life. Miller fired at the attacking Japanese planes until he was out of ammunition. We do not have an exact number of how many planes Miller downed, but his exhibit at the National African American History Museum in Washington, D.C., credits him with destroying two.
“It wasn’t hard,” Miller would say later. “I just pulled the trigger and she worked fine. I had watched the others with these guns. I guess I fired her for about 15 minutes. I think I got one of those Jap planes. They were diving pretty close to us.”
The Navy initially tried to cover up Miller’s heroics, but too many people had witnessed his courage to bury his bravery. The NAACP and Pittsburgh Courier newspaper applied pressure to get Miller the recognition he deserved. Efforts to award him the Medal of Honor were defeated in Congress. Not one member of the Texas delegation pushed for him to receive any honors.
At the intervention of Roosevelt, Miller was awarded the Navy Cross the following spring by a fellow Texan, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz. Many believe to this day that he still deserves a Medal of Honor. Dallas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson has been a tireless leader in this fight. She expressed this sentiment when she wrote to me in April that getting him this honor “continues to remain one of my highest priorities in Congress.”
Unfortunately, Miller did not survive World War II. Assigned in 1943 to the escort carrier Liscome Bay, he perished in a torpedo attack that took the lives of more than 600 men. He was initially listed as missing, and a year later he was presumed dead.
The legacy of Dorie Miller lives on today as we recognize the 79th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. In January the Navy announced it would build an aircraft carrier bearing his name, an honor usually reserved for former presidents. That designation is another step toward giving Miller the recognition he truly deserves.
Dante R. Brizill is a high school history teacher in Maryland and the author of two books highlighting the achievements of Black sailors and soldiers in World War II, including “Dorie Miller: Greatness Under Fire.” He wrote this column for The Dallas Morning News.
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The Link LonkDecember 07, 2020 at 02:31PM
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/12/07/dorie-miller-started-the-day-that-would-live-in-infamy-collecting-laundry-and-ended-a-navy-hero/
Dorie Miller started the day that would live in infamy collecting laundry and ended a Navy hero - The Dallas Morning News
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