OSF Editor: Will a future aircraft carrier be named after Doris Miller or Trump?
Google AI: No final decision has been made, but the U.S. Navy is actively conducting internal discussions about renaming the future aircraft carrier (CVN-81) to honor President Donald Trump. [1, 2, 3]
The vessel was originally named the USS Doris Miller in 2020 during Trump’s first term. Recent internal documents have shifted to referring to the ship strictly by its hull number, CVN-81. [1, 2]
Key Details of the Potential Change
- Unprecedented Move: Naming a supercarrier after a sitting president would be entirely unprecedented in modern U.S. Navy history.
- Alternative Plans for Miller: Officials are considering moving Doris Miller’s name to a different warship (such as a destroyer). Concurrently, there is a push to posthumously award Miller the Medal of Honor, upgrading his current Navy Cross.
- Decision Makers: The authority to finalize the ship’s name lies with Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
The proposed change has already generated significant public debate and backlash from veterans’ advocates and lawmakers. They emphasize that CVN-81 was intended to be the very first U.S. aircraft carrier named after an enlisted sailor and a Black American. [1, 2, 3]
Miller wearing his Navy Cross in May 1942
Doris “Dorie” Miller was a U.S. Navy sailor who was the first black recipient of the Navy Cross and a nominee for the Medal of Honor. As a mess attendant second class aboard the battleship USS West Virginia, Miller helped carry wounded sailors to safety during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He then operated an anti-aircraft gun[3] and, despite no prior training in gunnery, officially shot down one plane (according to Navy Department records), but Miller and other eyewitnesses claimed a range of four to six.[4] Wikipedia
Born October 12, 1919, Waco, TX
Died November 24, 1943 (age 24 years), Kiribati, Kiribati
