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Cook Third Class Doris Miller, USN

Cook Third Class Doris Miller, USN, (1919-1943)

Doris ("Dorie") Miller was born in Waco, Texas, on 12 October 1919. He enlisted in the Navy in September 1939 as a Mess Attendant Third Class. On 7 December 1941, while serving aboard USS West Virginia (BB-48), he distinguished himself by courageous conduct and devotion to duty during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions on this occasion.

Doris Miller served aboard USS Indianapolis (CA-35) from December 1941 to May 1943. He was then assigned to the escort carrier Liscome Bay (CVE-56). Cook Third Class Miller was lost with that ship when she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine on 24 November 1943, during the invasion of the Gilbert Islands.

Ship's Cook Third Class Doris Miller, USN

Doris Miller, known as "Dorie" to shipmates and friends, was born in Waco, Texas, on 12 October 1919, to Henrietta and Conery Miller. He had three brothers, one of which served in the Army during World War II.

While attending Moore High School in Waco, he was a fullback on the football team. He worked on his father's farm before enlisting in the U.S Navy as Mess Attendant, Third Class, at Dallas, Texas, on 16 September 1939, to travel, and earn money for his family.

He later was commended by the Secretary of the Navy, was advanced to Mess Attendant, Second Class and First Class, and subsequently was promoted to Ship's Cook, Third Class.

Following training at the Naval Training Station, Norfolk, Virginia, Miller was assigned to the ammunition ship USS Pyro (AE-1) where he served as a Mess Attendant, and on 2 January 1940 was transferred to USS West Virginia (BB-48), where he became the ship's heavyweight boxing champion.

In July of that year he had temporary duty aboard USS Nevada (BB-36) at Secondary Battery Gunnery School. He returned to West Virginia and on 3 August, and was serving in that battleship when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Miller had arisen at 6 a.m., and was collecting laundry when the alarm for general quarters sounded.

He headed for his battle station, the antiaircraft battery magazine amidship, only to discover that torpedo damage had wrecked it, so he went on deck. Because of his physical prowess, he was assigned to carry wounded fellow Sailors to places of greater safety. Then an officer ordered him to the bridge to aid the mortally wounded Captain of the ship.

He subsequently manned a 50 caliber Browning anti-aircraft machine gun until he ran out of ammunition and was ordered to abandon ship.

Miller described firing the machine gun during the battle, a weapon which he had not been trained to operate:

"It wasn't hard. I just pulled the trigger and she worked fine.
I had watched the others with these guns. I guess I fired her for about fifteen minutes. I think I got one of those Jap planes. They were diving pretty close to us."

During the attack, Japanese aircraft dropped two armored piercing bombs through the deck of the battleship and launched five 18-inch aircraft torpedoes into her port side.

Heavily damaged by the ensuing explosions, and suffering from severe flooding below decks, the crew abandoned ship while West Virginia slowly settled to the harbor bottom.

Of the 1,541 men on West Virginia during the attack, 130 were killed and 52 wounded. Subsequently refloated, repaired, and modernized, the battleship served in the Pacific theater through to the end of the war in August 1945.

Miller was commended by the Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox on 1 April 1942, and on 27 May 1942 he received the Navy Cross, which Fleet Admiral (then Admiral) Chester W. Nimitz, the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet personally presented to Miller on board aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) for his extraordinary courage in battle.

Speaking of Miller, Nimitz remarked:

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.

On 13 December 1941, Miller reported to USS Indianapolis (CA-35), and subsequently returned to the west coast of the United States in November 1942.

Assigned to the newly constructed USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56) in the spring of 1943, Miller was on board that escort carrier during Operation Galvanic, the seizure of Makin and Tarawa Atolls in the Gilbert Islands.

Liscome Bay's aircraft supported operations ashore between 20-23 November 1943. At 5:10 a.m. on 24 November, while cruising near Butaritari Island, a single torpedo from Japanese submarine I-175 struck the escort carrier near the stern. The aircraft bomb magazine detonated a few moments later, sinking the warship within minutes.

Listed as missing following the loss of that escort carrier, Miller was officially presumed dead 25 November 1944, a year and a day after the loss of Liscome Bay. Only 272 Sailors survived the sinking of Liscome Bay, while 646 died.

In addition to the Navy Cross, Miller was entitled to the Purple Heart Medal; the American Defense Service Medal, Fleet Clasp; the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; and the World War II Victory Medal.

Commissioned on 30 June 1973, USS Miller (FF-1091), a Knox-class frigate, was named in honor of Doris Miller.

On 11 October 1991, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority dedicated a bronze commemorative plaque of Miller at the Miller Family Park located on the U.S. Naval Base, Pearl Harbor.

USS Miller (DE-1091) was named in honor of Cook Third Class Doris Miller.

Doris Miller, Mess Attendant Second Class, USN (1919-1943)

Just after being presented with the Navy Cross by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, on board USS Enterprise (CV-6) at Pearl Harbor, 27 May 1942.

The medal was awarded for heroism on board USS West Virginia (BB-48) during the Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

Doris Miller, Mess Attendant Second Class, USN

Receives the Navy Cross from Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, at an awards ceremony held on the flight deck of USS Enterprise (CV-6) at Pearl Harbor, 27 May 1942.

The medal was awarded for heroism on board USS West Virginia (BB-48) during the Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

Ship's Cook Third Class Doris Miller's
Navy Cross Citation

Ship's Cook Third Class Doris Miller's Navy Cross Citation

NAVY CROSS MEDAL TO
MESS ATTENDANT SECOND CLASS DORIS MILLER
UNITED STATES NAVY

for services as set forth in the following:

CITATION: "For distinguished devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and disregard for his own personal safety during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941.

While at the side of his Captain on the bridge, Miller, despite enemy strafing and bombing and in the face of a 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 directed at enemy Japanese attacking aircraft until ordered to leave the bridge."

Ship's Cook Third Class Doris Miller, USN

There were many acts of bravery on the U.S.S. West Virginia. Men stayed on post while the ship took on water, was burning, and while the Japanese were dropping bombs and firing upon the ship.

The USS West Virginia's Captain Mervyn Sharp Bennion, USN was lying wounded on the bridge. A fragment of a bomb had cut open his abdomen leaving some of his intestines falling out of his abdominal cavity.

Despite being gravely wounded, the Captain continued expressing concern for his men, asked about the fires on board, asked whether the pumps were running and he was concerned about the oil spreading out onto and across the surface of water.

Captain Bennion kept insisting his men leave him alone on the bridge to go below.

Several men did attempt to rescue the Captain away from the fire, smoke and flooding.

Captain Mervyn Sharp Bennion, USN

Who was awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously, for devotion to duty and courage during the Pearl Harbor attack, 7 December 1941, while serving as Commanding Officer of USS West Virginia (BB-48).

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Here's an Action report from Lieutenant (JG) White.

USS West Virginia's Action Report, 11 December 1941

U.S.S. West Virginia

Hawaiian Area,
December 11, 1941.

From: Lieutenant (jg) F.H. White, D-V(G), U.S.N.R.
To: The Navy Department.
SUBJECT: Statement of Japanese attack on December 7, 1941.

At 0756, approximately, I was in the wardroom when the Fire and Rescue party was called away by bugle. I ran to the quarter deck. The first thing I saw, on reaching topside was a Japanese plane over a ship, ahead of the West Virginia, from which a column of water and smoke was rising.

As I ran forward, I stopped at the Deck office and sounded the general alarm just as the first torpedo struck the ship. In route my battle station in secondary forward I noticed no one in charge of the AA battery on the boat deck where the crews were manning the guns, so I remained there and took charge of the battery, breaking out the ready service ammunition, forming an ammunition train and getting the starboard guns firing, local control.

The ship had received three or four torpedo hits which threw oil and water all over the decks, which combined with the list to -- approximately 25° -- made footing very precarious. Due to the list of the ship, the port gun crews were brought to starboard as their guns would not elevate sufficiently.

The air to the guns had gone out, which necessitated depression for hand loading. While the guns were in action, several bombs dropped on or near the ship, but the discipline on the guns was excellent. When the ammunition in the ready service boxes was expended, I went below to see if more ammunition could be brought up.

In passing through Times Square I picked up four hands from the secondary battery who accompanied me, going down the hatch from Times Square to A-605 then to A-511.

In A-511 water was up to the airports on the port side and extended to the centerline one battle port was not dogged down which one hand of my detail took care of. The starboard armored hatch from A-511 to A-420 was open, but A-420 was flooded to within a few inches of this hatch.

A great many injured men were lying on deck or in the water in A-511, whom I ordered my detail to evacuate to Times Square. I returned to Times Square where Ens. T.J.F. Ford was in charge of secondary battery which was not at the moment engaged and ordered secondary battery personnel to evacuate all injured from second and main decks to Times Square.

From there I returned to the AA battery where I reported to Lieutenant Commander D.C. Johnson that ammunition could not be brought up and informed him of the situation below deck.

Lieutenant Commander J.H. Harper saw me and told me to go to the bridge and bring down the Captain who was wounded. Lieutenant C.V. Ricketts, Ens. V. Delano, C.S.M. Siewert, D. Miller, M.Att.2c. and several signalmen were on the signal and flag bridges, in the immediate vicinity of the starboard admiral's walk where the Captain was lying.

The Captain's abdomen was cut apparently by a fragment of bomb, about three by four inches, with part of his intestines protruding. The Captain deserves the highest praise, for although he was in great pain, his only concern was for the ship and crew.

The Captain did not want to be moved, but he was carefully carried to shelter abaft the conning tower where Leak, C.Ph.M. administered first aid.

Under direction of Lt. Ricketts, material to construct a stretcher on which to lower the Captain was procured, while D. Miller, Matt.2c. and I manned #1 and #2 machine gun forward of the conning tower.

A serious oil fire from the galley spread to the mast structure, with flame and thick black smoke preventing our lowering the Captain forward of the conning tower although an unsuccessful attempt was made. The smoke and flames prevented us from seeing more than a foot or two, and the heat was intense. I helped place the Captain on top of the search light forward of the conning tower and tried to untie the lashing which secured him to the improvised stretcher, but was unable to do so, I then went aft, groping my way to the other side of the signal bridge, bringing the enlisted men with me to look for something to cut the lashing.

Lt. Ricketts was by the starboard signal bags and I reported to him and he went forward to take a look followed by Miller and me. The Captain's stretcher had slid aft, with the captain's head down and the lashing loosened.

The four of us carried him aft and up to the Navigation Bridge where we laid him on deck under shelter of the port AA. director and out of the flame. The life jackets stowage and signal bags were burning by this time and Lt. Ricketts, Seiwert and I threw burning flags over the side.

A fire hose was sent up by heaving line which I used to try to fight fire but the pressure was insufficient. By this time the bridge was burning to starboard, and the signal bridge all over.

Ens. Graham went up the starboard boat crane and sent over a line which we secured to the rail on the bridge and used to cross to the carne and thence to the boat deck. From then until relieved fought fire.

Lt. C.V. Ricketts deserves the highest commendation for his exemplary inspiration and leadership. Had he not counter flooded, it is almost certain the West Virginia would have capsized as did the Oklahoma. His presence of mind, cool judgement and complete disregard of personal safety are an inspiration to all hands.

(signed)
F.H. WHITE,
Lieutenant (jg), U.S.N.R.

U.S.S. West Virginia