Doris Miller - Commendation

Commendation

On December 15, Miller was transferred to the Indianapolis. On January 1, 1942, the Navy released a list of commendations for actions on December 7. Among them was a single commendation for an unnamed Negro. The NAACP asked President Franklin D. Roosevelt to award the Distinguished Service Cross to this unknown Negro sailor, whether living or dead. The Navy Board of Awards in Washington D. C. received a recommendation that the unknown Negro sailor be considered for recognition. On March 12, 1942, Dr. Lawrence D. Reddick announced, after corresponding with the Navy, that the name of the unknown Negro sailor was "Doris Miller." The next day, Senator James N. Mead, (D-NY) introduced a Senate Bill to award Miller the Medal of Honor, although he did not yet know the basis for Miller's deeds. Four days later, Representative John D. Dingell, Democrat from Michigan introduced a matching bill . On March 21, The Pittsburgh Courier initiated a write-in campaign to send Miller to the Naval Academy.

Miller was recognized as one of the "first heroes of World War II". He was commended in a letter signed by the Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox on April 1, 1942, and the next day CBS radio broadcast an episode of the series, "They Live Forever", which dramatized Miller's actions. On May 27, 1942 Miller was personally recognized by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, aboard the aircraft carrier Enterprise. Nimitz presented Miller with the Navy Cross, the third highest award for gallantry during combat that the Navy awarded at the time. Miller was cited for:

“...distinguished devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and disregard of his personal safety during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. While at the side of his Captain on the bridge, Miller despite enemy strafing and bombing, and in the face of serious fire, assisted in moving his Captain, who had been mortally wounded, to a place of greater safety and later manned and operated a machine gun until ordered to leave the bridge.”

Nimitz told Miller, "This marks the first time in this conflict that such high tribute has been made in the Pacific Fleet to a member of his race and I'm sure that the future will see others similarly honored for brave acts." Negro organizations began a campaign to give Miller additional recognition. The All-Southern Negro Youth Conference on April 17-19, 1942 launched a signature campaign. On May 10, the National Negro Congress denounced the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox's recommendation against awarding Miller the Medal of Honor. However, on May 11, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved the Navy Cross, the Navy's highest medal, for Miller. Miller was presented the Navy Cross on May 27, 1942.