Son of Conery Miller (1895–1949) & Henrietta Murrell Miller (1895–1982).
World War II United States Navy Sailor. During his service, he was promoted from Mess Attendant to Petty Officer, Ship's Cook Third Class. He was the first African-American to receive the Navy Cross, which was awarded for his heroism during the Japanese naval attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.
A fullback on his high school football team (A. J. Moore High School in Waco, Texas, he enlisted September 16, 1939, to travel and earn money for his family. He was trained as a mess attendant at the Naval Training Station, Norfolk, Virginia, and was serving aboard the battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48) when the Japanese attacked.
His Navy Cross 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. 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. He later manned and operated a machine gun directed at enemy Japanese attacking aircraft until ordered to leave the bridge." The medal was awarded to him personally on May 27, 1942, by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who was the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet.
He was later assigned to the newly-constructed escort aircraft carrier USS Liscome Bay (ACV/CVE-56) and was on board during the seizure of Makin and Tarawa Atolls in the Gilbert Islands. On November 24, 1943, a single torpedo struck and sunk the carrier, killing 646 of the 918 personnel on board. Miller was among those whose bodies were never recovered. In his honor, the USS Miller (FF-1901), a "Knox-class" frigate, was commissioned on June 30, 1973. His name is permanently listed on the Court of the Missing Panels [see Find a Grave Memorial 9955928] in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. On January 19, 2020, the U.S. Navy announced construction of the newest "Ford-Class" aircraft carrier, the USS Doris Miller (CVN-81), scheduled to be commissioned in January 2030.
World War II United States Navy Sailor. During his service, he was promoted from Mess Attendant to Petty Officer, Ship's Cook Third Class. He was the first African-American to receive the Navy Cross, which was awarded for his heroism during the Japanese naval attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.
A fullback on his high school football team (A. J. Moore High School in Waco, Texas, he enlisted September 16, 1939, to travel and earn money for his family. He was trained as a mess attendant at the Naval Training Station, Norfolk, Virginia, and was serving aboard the battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48) when the Japanese attacked.
His Navy Cross 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. 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. He later manned and operated a machine gun directed at enemy Japanese attacking aircraft until ordered to leave the bridge." The medal was awarded to him personally on May 27, 1942, by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who was the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet.
He was later assigned to the newly-constructed escort aircraft carrier USS Liscome Bay (ACV/CVE-56) and was on board during the seizure of Makin and Tarawa Atolls in the Gilbert Islands. On November 24, 1943, a single torpedo struck and sunk the carrier, killing 646 of the 918 personnel on board. Miller was among those whose bodies were never recovered. In his honor, the USS Miller (FF-1901), a "Knox-class" frigate, was commissioned on June 30, 1973. His name is permanently listed on the Court of the Missing Panels [see Find a Grave Memorial 9955928] in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. On January 19, 2020, the U.S. Navy announced construction of the newest "Ford-Class" aircraft carrier, the USS Doris Miller (CVN-81), scheduled to be commissioned in January 2030.
Son of Conery Miller (1895–1949) & Henrietta Murrell Miller (1895–1982).
World War II United States Navy Sailor. During his service, he was promoted from Mess Attendant to Petty Officer, Ship's Cook Third Class. He was the first African-American to receive the Navy Cross, which was awarded for his heroism during the Japanese naval attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.
A fullback on his high school football team (A. J. Moore High School in Waco, Texas, he enlisted September 16, 1939, to travel and earn money for his family. He was trained as a mess attendant at the Naval Training Station, Norfolk, Virginia, and was serving aboard the battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48) when the Japanese attacked.
His Navy Cross 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. 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. He later manned and operated a machine gun directed at enemy Japanese attacking aircraft until ordered to leave the bridge." The medal was awarded to him personally on May 27, 1942, by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who was the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet.
He was later assigned to the newly-constructed escort aircraft carrier USS Liscome Bay (ACV/CVE-56) and was on board during the seizure of Makin and Tarawa Atolls in the Gilbert Islands. On November 24, 1943, a single torpedo struck and sunk the carrier, killing 646 of the 918 personnel on board. Miller was among those whose bodies were never recovered. In his honor, the USS Miller (FF-1901), a "Knox-class" frigate, was commissioned on June 30, 1973. His name is permanently listed on the Court of the Missing Panels [see Find a Grave Memorial 9955928] in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. On January 19, 2020, the U.S. Navy announced construction of the newest "Ford-Class" aircraft carrier, the USS Doris Miller (CVN-81), scheduled to be commissioned in January 2030.
World War II United States Navy Sailor. During his service, he was promoted from Mess Attendant to Petty Officer, Ship's Cook Third Class. He was the first African-American to receive the Navy Cross, which was awarded for his heroism during the Japanese naval attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.
A fullback on his high school football team (A. J. Moore High School in Waco, Texas, he enlisted September 16, 1939, to travel and earn money for his family. He was trained as a mess attendant at the Naval Training Station, Norfolk, Virginia, and was serving aboard the battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48) when the Japanese attacked.
His Navy Cross 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. 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. He later manned and operated a machine gun directed at enemy Japanese attacking aircraft until ordered to leave the bridge." The medal was awarded to him personally on May 27, 1942, by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who was the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet.
He was later assigned to the newly-constructed escort aircraft carrier USS Liscome Bay (ACV/CVE-56) and was on board during the seizure of Makin and Tarawa Atolls in the Gilbert Islands. On November 24, 1943, a single torpedo struck and sunk the carrier, killing 646 of the 918 personnel on board. Miller was among those whose bodies were never recovered. In his honor, the USS Miller (FF-1901), a "Knox-class" frigate, was commissioned on June 30, 1973. His name is permanently listed on the Court of the Missing Panels [see Find a Grave Memorial 9955928] in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. On January 19, 2020, the U.S. Navy announced construction of the newest "Ford-Class" aircraft carrier, the USS Doris Miller (CVN-81), scheduled to be commissioned in January 2030.
Bio by: Beth Painter
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