The move to name an aircraft carrier after a sitting president would mark an unprecedented move. The carrier was expected to be named in honor of Navy Cross recipient Doris Miller.
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U.S. Navy officials may name a new aircraft carrier after President Donald Trump instead of a World War II sailor who heroically saved lives when Pearl Harbor was bombed, CNN reported Thursday, Aug. 20.
The reported move by the Navy to name the carrier, now called CVN-81, comes amid a decades-long push to recognize Doris Miller, an enlisted Black sailor who was a mess attendant second class aboard the battleship USS West Virginia when bombs began falling on Dec. 7, 1941.
Miller, who had been gathering laundry that morning, rushed to the smoking deck and took control of an anti-aircraft gun he had no training on and opened fire on Japanese planes, downing at least one of them. He also helped carry wounded sailors to safety.
Miller was famously portrayed by Cuba Gooding Jr. in the 2001 film Pearl Harbor. During Trump’s first term, the Navy announced that the Ford-class carrier would be called the USS Doris Miller.
CNN, citing three sources familiar with internal discussions, said it’s unclear what the carrier will be named. But two of the sources told CNN there have been internal conversations about renaming it to honor Trump. It would be an unprecedented move to name an aircraft carrier after a sitting president.
The carrier is still under construction until 2034 but the Navy is under a time crunch to finalize the name as the ship’s keel-laying ceremony is expected at the end of this year, according to CNN.
Amid conversations over the ship’s name, the Navy has effectively stopped referring to the ship as the USS Doris Miller internally and is only calling it by its hull number, CVN-81, one of the sources said. A recent White House executive order on shipbuilding also referred to the ship only as CVN-81, tasking the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Navy to report back with a plan to replace the ship’s electromagnetic aircraft launch system with steam and hydraulic systems.
USA TODAY has reached out to the White House and Navy for comment. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment.
According to CNN, the Navy plans to name another warship after Miller and is recommending him for the Medal of Honor, the highest decoration for military valor.
Miller’s family could not be immediately reached for comment. The Waco, Texas, native died in 1943 during a Japanese torpedo attack in the Pacific. His family and members of Congress have long pushed for him to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
After the Japanese surprise attack in Hawaii in 1941, “Dorie,” as he was known, received the Navy Cross for his action in 1942.
Possible first aircraft carrier to be named after an African American
The U.S. Navy said on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2020 that the carrier would be the first to be named after an African American.
Navy Acting Secretary Thomas B. Modly said at that time the USS Doris Miller would serve as a reminder of the nation’s pursuit for justice and as a tribute to its namesake.
“Doris Miller was the son of a sharecropper and a descendant of slaves,” Modly said at the ceremony at Pearl Harbor. “He was not given the same opportunities that men of a different color were given to serve this country. But on Dec. 7, 1941, he would not be defined by the prejudice of other people.”
Miller was a ship’s cook at the time, Modly said, and showed initiative, professionalism and commitment during the attack.
“In selecting this name, we honor the contributions of all our enlisted ranks, past and present, men and women, of every race, religion and background,” Modly said in a statement announcing the ship’s name in 2020. “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. observed, ‘Everybody can be great – because anybody can serve.’ No one understands the importance and true meaning of service than those who have volunteered to put the needs of others above themselves.”
The Gerald R. Ford-class carrier named after Miller will be deployed in major combat operations, crisis response and humanitarian relief, the Navy said in a statement. One other ship bears Miller’s name: the USS Miller (FF-1091), a Knox-class frigate.
Along with the Navy Cross, Miller was awarded the Purple Heart; the American Defense Service Medal, Fleet Clasp; the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; and the World War II Victory Medal.