Doris Miller (1919 - 1943)

Born 12 Oct 1919 in Waco, McLennan County, Texas, United States

Ancestors

Died 24 Nov 1943 at age 24 in Pacific Ocean, near Butaritari, Makin Atoll, Gilbert Islands, Kiribati

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Biography

Messman 3rd Class Dorie Miller served in the United States Navy in World War II
Service started: 1939
Unit(s):
Service ended: November 24, 1943

Dorie Miller is Notable.

Dorie Miller was awarded the Purple Heart.

Dorie Miller was awarded the Navy Cross.

Doris "Dorie" Miller was a U.S. Navy sailor who was the first African-American to be awarded the Navy's highest award, the Navy Cross, for his valor when his ship was attacked during Pearl Harbor. Dorie was later killed in action when his ship was sunk in 1943. Efforts are underway to upgrade his award to the Medal of Honor, the highest in the United States.

Doris "Dorie" Miller was born on 12 Oct 1919 in Waco, Texas, United States. His parents were Conery Miller and Henrietta Murray.^[1] He grew up in McLennan County, Texas where his father worked as a farmer.^[2][3]

Dorie was serving aboard the battleship USS West Virginia when it was struck by Japanese bombers in Pearl Harbor on 7 Dec 1941. Although he was a cook and mess attendant, after helping to carry wounded men to safety below deck (he was a big fellow, and had played high school football) he did not hesitate to grab a machine gun to defend the ship when the situation called for it.^[4]

For his actions, he was awarded the Navy Cross, which was presented to him by Adm. Chester Nimitz, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. He was the first African American to be so awarded.^[4]

His citation reads: "For distinguished devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and disregard for his own personal safety during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. While at the side of his Captain on the bridge, Miller, despite enemy strafing and bombing and in the face of a serious fire, assisted in moving his Captain, who had been mortally wounded, to a place of greater safety, and later manned and operated a machine gun directed at enemy Japanese attacking aircraft until ordered to leave the bridge."^[5]

He became renowned, and was brought home in 1942 to promote war bonds. His image was used on a Navy recruiting poster. Unfortunately, he did not live past the war. He died on November 24, 1943 aboard the USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56), an escort carrier, at sea during the Battle of Makin in World War II.^[1]

Legacy

On 9 December 1945, the three theatre complexes on the Treasure Island Naval Base were dedicated to World War II Naval heroes who had been killed in action. Theatre One was named for Doris Miller. Broadcast nationwide on the ABC radio series Orson Welles Commentaries, the ceremonies featured Commodore Robert W. Cary, commander of the center, and Orson Welles, who interviewed family members. The three honorees were selected through a renaming contest in the base publication, The Masthead^[6]

On Jan 19, 2020, the Navy said that it would name an aircraft carrier after him, the first time that an aircraft carrier has been named for an African American, and the first time a sailor has been so honored for actions taken as an enlisted man.

Many believe that Dorie's actions warranted not just the Navy Cross, but the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor. Efforts have been made as early as the 1940s to have him so recognized; and the latest as of this writing (2021) may finally lead to success.^[7]

Dorie's name is inscribed on the Punchbowl Memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Navy Personnel Command. Bureau of Personnel. ca. 1995-, and Department of the Navy. Bureau of Navigation (Predecessor). Official Military Personnel File for Doris Miller. Series: Official Military Personnel Files, 1885 - 1998, 1885. Accessed 30 August 2021
   • Image 1 - Age Certificate, signed by Conery Miller, father
   • Image 3 - Application for Enlistment - Length of Enlistment (6 yrs), Education (8th grade), and reason for enlisting (travel)
   • Image 4 - Moore High School, Waco, Texas 1937-1938
   • Image 19 - Beneficiary Slip, beneficiary Mother, Mrs Henrietta Miller, Waco Texas
   • Image 33 - Letter to his parents telling them he was missing
   • Image 35 - Certificate of Death issued by the US Navy
   • Image 37 - Letter to his parents saying that the manner of the sinking of the Liscome Bay does not furnish hope for recovery of survivors
   • Image 40 - Report of Casualty - Presumed date as of 25 Nov 1944, Vessel torpedoed and sunk at sea in the Pacific, identifies parents
   • Image 42 - Family acknowledged receipt of his Purple Heart and certificate on 22 March 1945
   • Image 54 - Description of mission at the time of the sinking of the Liscome Bay on 24 Nov 1943
2. ↑ 1920: "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH1M-71V : accessed 30 August 2021), Dorris Meller in household of Conroe Meller, McLennan, Texas, United States; citing , sheet , line , family , NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll ; FHL microfilm .
3. ↑ 1930: "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HXVH-VN2 : accessed 28 April 2017), Doris Miller in household of Coney Miller, Precinct 4, McLennan, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 48, sheet 3B, line 62, family 58, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2374; FHL microfilm 2,342,108.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} First Negro to Win Navy Cross Missing, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas 13 Dec 1943, Mon - Page 7. Clipped May 6, 2021.
5. ↑ Doris Miller's Navy Cross Citation
6. ↑ Naval Station Treasure Island on Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
7. ↑ Belt, Mollie, "Honoring Dorie Miller with a Long-Awaited Medal of Honor," Dallas Examiner (blog), 15 August 2021.
8. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9955928/doris-miller : accessed 30 August 2021), memorial page for Doris “Dorie” Miller (12 Oct 1919–24 Nov 1943), Find A Grave: Memorial #9955928, citing Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii, USA; Maintained by Find A Grave.

See also:

• Doris Miller on Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
• Upworthy.com, "During the Attack on Pearl Harbor, This Black Sailor Broke the Rules to Save Lives," July 15, 2021 (https://www.upworthy.com/during-the-attack-on-pearl-harbor-this-black-sailor-broke-the-rules-to-save-lives : accessed 30 August 2021)

• Wamsley, Laurel. "U.S. Navy To Name Aircraft Carrier After WWII Hero Doris Miller." NPR January 19, 2020 4:36 PM ET. https://www.npr.org/2020/01/19/797756016/

• "MY COUSIN'S A SUPERHERO! Kids Tell TRUE STORY of DORIE MILLER: WWII HERO | Kidsplaining™️ | Ancestry." Ancestry (channel). 22 May 2021.