The Civil Rights Hero of World War II

At around 8 a.m. on December 7, Miller was doing laundry when battle alarms sounded. Just then, more than 350 Japanese aircraft began to rain down bombs and torpedoes on Pearl Harbor, including Miller’s battleship—the West Virginia—and six others docked close by.

Instantly, all was chaos. On the deck of the West Virginia, a U.S. plane overturned by the blasts started to leak gasoline. The fuel ignited, quickly spreading flames and thick black smoke. The ship had also been penetrated by torpedoes and began to tilt wildly to one side. Nearby, the battleship USS Arizona, which had been hit even harder, was now a ball of fire. Its flaming debris pelted the other ships and turned the waters around them, coated with leaking oil, into an inferno.

At around 8 a.m. on December 7, Miller was doing laundry. Suddenly, battle alarms sounded. More than 350 Japanese aircraft began to rain down bombs and torpedoes on Pearl Harbor. The blasts struck Miller’s battleship, the West Virginia, and six others docked close by.

Instantly, all was chaos. On the deck of the West Virginia, a U.S. plane was overturned by the blasts and started leaking gasoline. The fuel caught fire. Flames and thick black smoke spread quickly. The ship had also been pierced by torpedoes. It began to tilt wildly to one side. Nearby, the battleship USS Arizona had been hit even harder. It was a ball of fire, and its flaming debris was striking the other ships. Leaking oil coated the surrounding waters, turning them into an inferno.

Japanese aircraft continued to swarm overhead as sailors scrambled to get to their battle stations. In the rush of activity, Miller headed to a central area looking for instructions. An officer directed him and a white lieutenant, Frederic White, to move the ship’s gravely wounded captain to safety.

Smoke, fire, and searing heat made that almost impossible. As the two sailors attempted to lower the captain to the main deck, White spotted two unmanned anti-aircraft machine guns. He signaled to Miller to help him with the guns.

The officer expected the messman to simply help load ammunition, as he had been trained to do. Instead, Miller—who had never before operated an anti-aircraft device—jumped on one of the guns and began firing at the Japanese planes.

Japanese aircraft still swarmed overhead as sailors scrambled to their battle stations. In the rush of activity, Miller headed to a central area looking for instructions. An officer told him and a white lieutenant, Frederic White, to move the ship’s seriously wounded captain to safety.

Smoke, fire, and searing heat made that almost impossible. The two sailors tried to lower the captain to the main deck. Then White spotted two unmanned anti-aircraft machine guns. He signaled to Miller to help.

Miller had never operated an anti-aircraft device.The officer expected him to simply help load ammunition, as he had been trained to do. Instead, Miller jumped on one of the guns. He began firing at the Japanese planes.

“It wasn’t hard,” Miller later said. He had watched other sailors shoot them. “I just pulled the trigger and she worked fine.” Another officer would later report that Miller was “blazing away as though he had fired [the gun] all of his life.”

Miller and White shot until they ran out of ammunition. After that, they tried to fight the raging fire with a fire hose—barely escaping themselves. Then, as the oil-slicked sea continued to burn, Miller and White began pulling sailors who had fallen into the water back onto the West Virginia deck. Finally, the crew was ordered to abandon ship. Miller was one of the last to leave, helping others dodge patches of flaming water and Japanese bullets as they swam to shore.

“It wasn’t hard,” Miller later said. He had watched other sailors shoot them. “I just pulled the trigger and she worked fine.” Another officer would later report that Miller was “blazing away as though he had fired [the gun] all of his life.”

Miller and White shot until they ran out of ammunition. Next, they tried to fight the raging fire with a fire hose. They barely escaped themselves. Then Miller and White began pulling sailors who had fallen into the water back onto the ship’s deck. The oil-slicked sea continued to burn. Finally, the crew was ordered to abandon ship. Miller was one of the last to leave. He was helping others dodge patches of flaming water and Japanese bullets as they swam to shore.

The surprise attack by Japan’s forces remains one of the most shocking events in U.S. history. In just about two hours, 21 ships and hundreds of planes were damaged or destroyed. Some 2,400 Americans were killed.

Up to that time, the U.S. had not been fighting in World War II. That conflict began in September 1939, when Nazi Germany launched a campaign to conquer Europe. War spread to the Pacific Ocean as Japan, seeing an opportunity to expand its military domination of that region, allied itself with the Axis powers of Germany and Italy (see “What You Need to Know,” above, and map, below).

The surprise attack by Japan’s forces remains one of the most shocking events in U.S. history. In just about two hours, 21 ships and hundreds of planes were damaged or destroyed. Some 2,400 Americans were killed.

Up to that time, the U.S. had not been fighting in World War II. That conflict began in September 1939, when Nazi Germany started a campaign to conquer Europe. War spread to the Pacific Ocean as Japan saw a chance to expand its military domination of that region. It sided with the Axis powers of Germany and Italy (see “What You Need to Know,” above, and map, below). 

Even though the U.S. was technically neutral, it opposed Japan’s expansion of power. Japan’s leaders gambled that a bold strike on the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet, which was stationed at Pearl Harbor, would cripple America’s ability to stop them.

News of the attack stunned the nation. The next day, December 8, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress for a declaration of war against Japan. Three days later, Japan’s allies Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S.

As the U.S. prepared for the fight, Miller went back to work. With the West Virginia in need of major repairs, he was assigned to a new ship, the USS Indianapolis. Soon it was steaming across the Pacific Ocean, into action against Japan.

The U.S. was technically neutral. But it opposed Japan’s expansion of power. Japan’s leaders gambled that a bold strike on the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor would cripple America’s ability to stop them.

News of the attack stunned the nation. The next day, December 8, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war against Japan. Three days later, Japan’s allies Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S.

The U.S. prepared to fight. And Miller went back to work. The West Virginia needed major repairs. So he was assigned to a new ship, the USS Indianapolis. Soon it was steaming across the Pacific Ocean, into action against Japan.

In both his professional and personal lives, Dorie Miller was a link between an old America and a changing one. He was born in Waco, Texas, in 1919, a place and time in which the legacy of slavery affected nearly every aspect of Black people’s lives.

Just two generations before him, Miller’s grandparents had been enslaved. Even after slavery was abolished in 1865 by the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Southern states including Texas enacted racist laws and policies that denied Black people the right to vote or hold many jobs. Black people were also forced to use separate and inferior public facilities, including schools and hospitals.

In both his professional and personal lives, Dorie Miller was a link between an old America and a changing one. He was born in Waco, Texas, in 1919. In that place and time, the legacy of slavery affected nearly every part of Black people’s lives.

Just two generations before him, Miller’s grandparents had been enslaved. Slavery was ended in 1865 by the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But even after that, Southern states like Texas enacted racist laws and policies that denied Black people the right to vote or hold many jobs. Black people were also forced to use separate and inferior public facilities, including schools and hospitals.

But racial inequality wasn’t limited to the South. It was a fact of life all over the country—including in the armed forces. Black Americans had served in every one of the nation’s wars. Yet in part because military leaders believed that white soldiers would not tolerate fighting alongside Black soldiers, the races were kept separate.

Even so, Black leaders had long urged people in their communities to join the military. It would, they said, prove that Black Americans were patriotic—and that they deserved equal rights.

“Make way for Democracy!” wrote the noted Black scholar W.E.B. Du Bois in 1919, as Black veterans returned from serving in Europe during World War I (1914-18). “We saved it in France and . . . we will save it in the United States of America.”

In 1939, with few opportunities available for him in Waco, Texas, Miller joined the Navy. In addition to being a messman, he was instructed in a task he might have to take on in an emergency: handing ammunition to the operator of an anti-aircraft gun.

But racial inequality was not limited to the South. It was a fact of life all over the country, including in the armed forces. Black Americans had served in every one of the nation’s wars. Yet the races were kept separate. That was in part because military leaders believed that white soldiers would not tolerate fighting alongside Black soldiers.

Still, Black leaders had long urged people in their communities to join the military. They said it would prove that Black Americans were patriotic and that they deserved equal rights.

“Make way for Democracy!” wrote the noted Black scholar W.E.B. Du Bois in 1919. That year, Black veterans returned from serving in Europe during World War I (1914-18). “We saved it in France and . . . we will save it in the United States of America.”

In 1939, few opportunities were available for Miller in Waco, Texas. So he joined the Navy as a messman. He also was taught how to hand ammunition to the operator of an anti-aircraft gun in case of an emergency.

The full impact of Miller’s actions in World War II came gradually. During the war, the Navy relaxed the rules that segregated its forces and also began training Black officers. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman officially desegregated the U.S. armed forces. Many historians have given a lot of credit for these advances to the actions of the young messman at Pearl Harbor.

However, racial discrimination remained legal throughout the U.S. It took the civil rights movement, which began in earnest nearly a decade later, to begin to bring real change to the whole country.

Historian Michael Parrish, co-author of a book on Miller, draws a straight line between the events at Pearl Harbor and the momentous struggle for civil rights. “Miller’s heroism started a chain reaction,” he says. “World War II was the first war in U.S. history in which the huge sacrifices by Black servicemen made a significant difference in Black Americans’ quest for equality.”

Today, Miller’s name lives on in military barracks, schools, and parks around the country. And last year, the Navy made a historic announcement. It is naming a new ship—an aircraft “supercarrier”— after the messman. Such an honor is usually given only to American presidents. The USS Doris Miller** will be the first supercarrier named after an enlisted sailor—and the first after a Black American.

That honor would have seemed just to the crusading Pittsburgh Courier. “He died for his country that his people might rise another notch in dignity and courage,” one editor wrote in 1956. “Every blow struck for civil rights is a monument to Dorie Miller, citizen.”

The full impact of Miller’s actions in World War II came gradually. During the war, the Navy relaxed the rules that segregated its forces. It also began to train Black officers. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman officially desegregated the U.S. armed forces. Many historians have given a lot of credit for these advances to Miller’s actions at Pearl Harbor.

However, racial discrimination remained legal throughout the U.S. It took the civil rights movement, which began in earnest nearly a decade later, to begin to bring real change to the whole country.

Historian Michael Parrish is a co-author of a book on Miller. He draws a straight line between the events at Pearl Harbor and the momentous struggle for civil rights. “Miller’s heroism started a chain reaction,” he says. “World War II was the first war in U.S. history in which the huge sacrifices by Black servicemen made a significant difference in Black Americans’ quest for equality.”

Today, Miller’s name lives on in military barracks, schools, and parks around the country. And last year, the Navy made a historic announcement. It is naming a new aircraft “supercarrier” ship after the messman. Such an honor is usually given only to American presidents. The USS Doris Miller** will be the first supercarrier named after an enlisted sailor. And it will be the first named after a Black American.

That honor would have seemed just to the crusading Pittsburgh Courier. “He died for his country that his people might rise another notch in dignity and courage,” one editor wrote in 1956. “Every blow struck for civil rights is a monument to Dorie Miller, citizen."

*The term Negro, once commonly used to refer to Black people, is now considered outdated and offensive.

**Miller’s given name was Doris Miller. Dorie was his nickname.

*The term Negro, once commonly used to refer to Black people, is now considered outdated and offensive.

**Miller’s given name was Doris Miller. Dorie was his nickname.