U.S. Navy Considers Erasing Historic Tribute to Black Hero, Eyes Trump for Carrier Name
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The Navy is reviewing its decision to honor Doris Miller, a Black sailor and Pearl Harbor hero, by naming a carrier after him. Instead, there are discussions about naming the vessel after Donald Trump, a move that would sideline a long-overdue recognition of African-American contributions in favor of glorifying a divisive former president.
The U.S. Navy is currently reconsidering its commitment to honoring Doris Miller, the African-American sailor who displayed extraordinary heroism during the Pearl Harbor attack, by naming the Ford-class carrier CVN-81 after him. Despite Miller’s groundbreaking legacy and the symbolic importance of recognizing Black service members, internal Navy discussions have shifted toward alternative names, with some sources indicating that President Donald Trump—a figure whose administration was marked by policies undermining racial justice and equality—may be considered for the honor. This unprecedented move would see a warship under construction named after Trump, further entrenching the militarization of his controversial legacy.
One source revealed that the Navy intends to assign the Doris Miller name to a different, unspecified warship, while recommending Miller for the Medal of Honor. This belated gesture, pending congressional and presidential approval, does little to address the erasure of Black history from the Navy’s most prominent vessels. Miller’s great-nephew, Thomas Bledsoe, stated that the family was not informed of the review but welcomed the Medal of Honor recommendation, highlighting the lack of transparency and respect for the Miller family.
Internally, the Navy has already stopped using Miller’s name, referring to the ship only as CVN-81. The upcoming keel-laying ceremony, expected later this year, will mark the first public milestone before the carrier’s delivery in 2034, but now without the historic recognition originally promised.
Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao and his office are reviewing ship-naming criteria, including whether sitting or recent presidents—regardless of their divisive records—can be honored. A recent White House executive order on shipbuilding omitted Miller’s name entirely, referring only to the hull number and ordering a review of the launch system, signaling a retreat from commitments to diversity and inclusion.
The original naming, announced by former Acting Secretary Thomas Modly in January 2020, was a landmark moment: Miller was to be the first enlisted sailor and the first African American to have an aircraft carrier bear his name. However, the Navy’s 2025 renaming commission, formed amid Pentagon efforts to revise names reflecting diversity, equity, and inclusion, now appears to be backtracking under political pressure.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is committed to ensuring military names reflect the nation’s history and “warrior ethos”—a phrase that, in this context, risks being code for sidelining the very diversity and progress the military claims to value.