GREGORY CHANDLER ON BLACK HISTORY MONTH

February is Black History Month. Given my military background, I write today about Dorie Miller.

On December 7, 1941, the military forces of the Japanese Empire attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Doris "Dorie" Miller was working as a food service worker on the USS West Virginia. During the attack by the Japanese, Miller manned a .50 caliber Browning anti-aircraft machine gun. As a food service worker, Miller was not trained in the use of the anti-aircraft machine gun.

Miller had shown the fighting spirit prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Miller had won the heavyweight boxing title for his ship. It was on this ship, the USS West Virginia, that Miller faced the greatest challenge of his short Navy career.


When the alarm sounded for what the Navy calls General Quarters, Miller left behind the laundry he was collecting and headed to the anti-aircraft battery area on the ship. He discovered that a torpedo had damaged the anti-aircraft station, so he went on deck. Miller's physical strength as a boxer enabled him to carry wounded sailors to safety before he was assigned to help the mortally wounded captain of the ship. It was then that Miller stepped out of his position as a cook and grabbed the unoccupied machine gun. Miller fired at Japanese planes until the weapon ran out of ammunition. Despite having no training with this weapon, Miller persevered, stating: "It wasn't hard. I just pulled the trigger and she worked fine. I had watched the others with these guns. I guess I fired her for about fifteen minutes."

Catherine Reef, author of African-Americans in the Military: A to Z of African-Americans, writes that Miller shot down at least four, and possibly as many as six, Japanese warplanes.

Admiral Chester W. Nimitz presented Miller with the Navy Cross on 1 April 1942. According to Reef, Nimitz said at the time, "This marks the first time in this conflict that such a high tribute has been made in the Pacific Fleet to a member of his race and I'm sure that the future will see other similarly honored for brave acts."

Miller's act of patriotic heroism also earned him the Purple Heart Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, Fleet Clasp, and the World War II Victory Medal.

Miller was killed in combat when aboard the USS Liscome Bay in 1943. Miller was on board during Operation Galvanic, the capture of Makin and Tarawa Atolls in the Gilbert Islands, when a single torpedo from a Japanese submarine struck the ship. The ship's aircraft bomb magazine exploded, quickly sinking the warship in minutes. Miller was never found and was later officially presumed dead.

The Navy commissioned a frigate in honor of Miller in 1973 called the USS Miller. Also, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority dedicated a bronze commemorative plaque of Miller, located in Miller Family Park on the U. S. Naval Base, Pearl Harbor.

Dorie Miller stood out among those on the USS West Virginia. He stepped up to help his country in its time of need; and although he was not extensively trained in weaponry, he stepped into the line of fire in defense of his fellow sailors and civilians.

GREGORY CHANDLER, Attorney at Law
Colonel, US Army Reserve