In the movie PEARL HARBOR, Cuba Gooding, Jr. played mess attendant Doris Miller on the battleship USS West Virginia. During the attack, Miller helped the battleship's mortally-wounded commander and other crewmen, then he manned a machine gun and was officially credit with shooting down two Japanese bombers. Miller was the first black recipient of the Navy Cross, and he was nominated for the Medal of Honor.
Miller was later stationed on the escort aircraft carrier USS Liscome Bay which was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Ironically, his parents were notified he was missing in action on December 7, 1943. Miller was one of 644 crewmen who died in the sinking of the Liscome Bay, the greatest loss of life of any aircraft carrier in Navy history.
The frigate USS Miller was named in his honor. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Doris Miller is scheduled to be commissioned in 2032.
In the movie PEARL HARBOR, Cuba Gooding, Jr. played mess attendant Doris Miller on the battleship USS West Virginia, who shot down two Japanese bombers.
Miller was one of 644 crewmen who died in the sinking of the escort aircraft carrier USS Liscome Bay, the greatest loss of life of any aircraft carrier in Navy history.
The frigate USS Miller was named in Miller's honor.
The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Doris Miller is scheduled to be commissioned in 2032.
