Aircraft Carrier Named After Pearl Harbor Hero From Central Texas

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(Pearl Harbor, HI) — A new aircraft carrier will be named after a Texas-born hero of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

The Acting Secretary of the Navy honored Doris Miller at a ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Monday. “Dorie” Miller was a sailor from Waco, where a memorial park is named in his honor. He manned a gun and shot at Japanese planes during the attack, even though he wasn’t trained or authorized to do so.

It will be the first aircraft carrier to be named for an African American. The announcement was made on MLK Day.