Veteran of the Week - Doris Miller

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX -- This week’s Veteran is Dorris Miller, who served in the U.S. Navy from 1939-1943. He is a True American Hero. Waco, Texas born Dorie, was on duty aboard the battleship West Virginia at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on the morning of December 7th, 1941. Miller, a Mess Attendant, had served breakfast that morning, and was collecting laundry when Japanese planes started attacking battleship row with bombs and torpedoes. Dorie immediately went to his battle station, assisting an anti-aircraft battery magazine, which had been destroyed by a bomb. Miller was then ordered to the ship’s conning tower to evacuate the mortally wounded ship’s captain Mervyn Bennion, which was impossible given the conditions, so he was placed on a cot and comforted by others with him still giving orders until died. Miller then was ordered to a Browning .50 caliber anti-aircraft gun, behind the conning tower. He received quick instruction on how to operate the weapon, and started firing away. Dorie was credited with downing at least one enemy plane that morning, which is an amazing feat given he had never operated the weapon before. Miller was the first Black recipient of the Navy Cross, and a ‘nominee’ for the Medal of Honor. Well, the time has come to upgrade Mess Attendant, Second Class, Miller’s award to a ‘Medal of Honor.” Dorie was promoted to Cook Petty Officer, Third Class, in June 1943, but was sadly killed on November 24, 1943, when his ship, the USS Liscome Bay, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine off the Makin Atoll, near the Gilbert and Ellice Islands in the Pacific Ocean. A new aircraft carrier, CVN-81, will be named after Doris Miller, scheduled to be launched in 2029. Please take a few moments this Saturday, December 7th, and remember the sailors, soldiers, and marines who died on that day.

I urge you to call Representative Pete Sessions’ office, who is the Waco Congressional Representative, and urge him to fight to upgrade Doris Miller’s medal to a Medal of Honor. Pete’s Washington D.C. office number is (202) 225-6105. Session’s Huntsville district office is (936) 755-7770.

May God Bless Doris ‘Dorie’ Miller, for his Sacrifice to Our Nation, and for being the ‘Veteran of the Week’.