The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is demanding answers after reports surfaced that the U.S. Navy may remove Black WWII hero Doris Miller‘s name from an aircraft carrier and replace it with President Donald Trump‘s.
Derrick Johnson, NAACP President, in an X post Friday, called the move “a slap in the face to every war hero,” criticizing the timing given ongoing conditions aboard other Navy vessels. He wrote, “This is a slap in the face to every war hero and to every service member who has worn the uniform. It’s beyond comprehension for a president to want his own name on a Navy ship.”
Historic Vessel, Historic Honor
The USS Doris Miller, a Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier designated CVN-81, is being built by Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. (NYSE:HII). Named in 2020, it is the first aircraft carrier named after a Black American and the first to honor the heroism of an enlisted sailor.
Miller operated an anti-aircraft gun during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor despite having no formal training. He later became the first Black American to receive the Navy Cross. He was killed in action in 1943.
