4 min learnAug 22, 2026 03:01 PM IST
A US Navy plane service initially named after Doris Miller, a Black sailor who was adorned for his bravery throughout the 1941 Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor, might be renamed after President Donald Trump, based on CNN, citing three sources conversant in inside discussions. Two of the sources stated there had been conversations about naming the vessel after Trump.
The purported transfer to rename USS Doris Miller has sparked criticism from veterans and civil rights teams, notably as a result of no US Navy plane service has beforehand been named after a sitting president.
“It is a slap within the face to each conflict hero and each service member who has worn the uniform,” Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, stated, based on The Guardian. He stated Miller “earned his place in American historical past by means of braveness, sacrifice, and repair.”
The service was to be named the USS Doris Miller in honour of the Navy prepare dinner, who distinguished himself throughout the Pearl Harbor assault. The Navy has declined to touch upon the reported renaming, whereas the White Home referred inquiries to the Division of Protection, which additionally declined to remark.
“Doris Miller earned his place in American historical past by means of braveness, sacrifice, and repair. Donald Trump solely desires to serve himself,” Johnson stated.
The US Navy has declined to touch upon the reviews. The White Home referred inquiries to the Division of Protection, which additionally declined to remark.
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Who was Doris Miller?
Miller was serving as a Navy prepare dinner aboard the USS West Virginia when Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Regardless of having no formal coaching to function the weapons system, Miller reportedly manned an anti-aircraft machine gun and fired at Japanese plane throughout the assault. He additionally helped transfer the ship’s mortally wounded captain to security whereas the vessel was underneath enemy hearth.
For his actions, Miller was awarded the Navy Cross, turning into probably the most distinguished Black American servicemen of the Second World Struggle. His household has for years campaigned for his Navy Cross to be upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
Miller continued to serve after Pearl Harbor. He was killed in 1943 when the plane service escort USS Liscome Bay was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. About two-thirds of the ship’s crew died within the assault.
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Why has the renaming sparked controversy?
Critics say changing Miller’s title with Trump’s would erase the tribute to a sailor whose bravery helped problem racial boundaries throughout the US navy.
Johnson additionally criticised the reported plan within the context of circumstances confronted by present service members.
“It’s past comprehension for a president to need his personal title on a Navy ship whereas our armed forces live in deteriorating circumstances aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln,” he stated.
He accused Trump of turning navy service into “one other alternative for private branding”, arguing that American service members “signed as much as defend the nation, not the delicate ego of 1 man”.
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The controversy additionally comes towards the backdrop of the Navy’s custom of naming its main warships after figures and establishments related to American navy historical past, fairly than honouring a sitting president.
If the reported plan goes forward, the vessel would mark a big departure from that custom and from the unique intention to honour Miller, whose actions at Pearl Harbor made him probably the most celebrated Black servicemen in US historical past.
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