The Navy Cross

Harry Truman didn't integrate the armed forces of the United States until June 26, 1948.  Before that date, African-Americans were limited to support roles; the Navy in particular practiced a de facto form of segregation.

Dorie Miller's term of service in our Navy predated Truman's executive order of 1948.  Miller enlisted in the Navy in 1939.  Over two years, he worked his way up from mess attendant (read as busboy) to ship’s cook.  While doing so, in January, 1940, he was transferred to the battleship USS West Virginia.

When that ship was hit during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Miller first tended to the wounded, and then manned an anti-aircraft gun, downing at least one Japanese plane.

For his valor during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dorie Miller was awarded the Navy Cross by Admiral Chester Nimitz.