U.S. Navy Considers Erasing Legacy of Black WWII Hero Doris Miller to Honor Trump with New Carrier CVN-81
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
The Navy is reportedly weighing a move to strip the long-promised honor from Doris Miller, a Black World War II hero, in favor of naming the next Ford-class carrier after President Donald Trump, highlighting ongoing struggles with racial justice and the glorification of divisive political figures.
U.S. Navy officials are reportedly considering the deeply controversial step of renaming the Ford-class aircraft carrier CVN-81 after President Donald Trump, instead of honoring Doris Miller, the Black World War II sailor whose heroism at Pearl Harbor made him a symbol of the fight for racial equality. According to sources cited by CNN and NBC, the carrier, scheduled for completion in 2034, has so far only been referred to by its hull number as the Navy approaches the crucial naming decision ahead of the expected keel-laying ceremony later this year.
Doris Miller, an African-American mess attendant on the USS West Virginia, defied the racist restrictions of his era by manning an anti-aircraft gun during the Pearl Harbor attack, saving lives and earning the Navy Cross. In 2020, the Navy announced the ship would be the first aircraft carrier named after an African American, citing Miller’s actions as a beacon in the nation’s ongoing pursuit of justice and equality.
"Doris Miller was the son of a sharecropper and a descendant of slaves," Acting Secretary Thomas B. Modly said at the 2020 naming ceremony, emphasizing that the ship would honor the overlooked contributions of enlisted personnel from all backgrounds.
CNN cited three insiders who revealed that the idea of naming the vessel for Trump—a president whose tenure was marked by divisive rhetoric and policies—has sparked internal debate, while NBC reported two officials confirming the discussion has dragged on for months. Naming a carrier after a sitting president, especially one as polarizing as Trump, would be unprecedented and signals a troubling shift away from honoring those who fought for justice and inclusion. The White House executive order on shipbuilding refers to the vessel only as CVN-81 and instructs senior defense officials to review its launch system.
The Navy claims it will still name a separate warship for Miller and is recommending him for the Medal of Honor, yet the White House has failed to approve the commendation. Miller’s family and members of Congress have long fought for this recognition, but the Pentagon declined to comment on the ongoing naming talks, raising further concerns about the erasure of Black heroes in favor of political expediency.