Military Politics, the U.S. Jim Crow Navy, and the Heroic Legacy of Doris (“Dorie”) Miller

Abstract

This paper is about the famous Black Navy man, Doris (“Dorie”) Miller, a World War II hero who also fought the forces of evil in the United States Navy and abroad. This is to say that Miller had to confront a military that was discriminatory, unequal, and segregated — that is, in terms of race. However, Miller became a pioneering member of the U.S. Navy who encouraged other Black sailors to be everything that they could be, even though he and others like him were at the bottom of the Navy’s hierarchy, as enlisted men.

Furthermore, “Dorie” Miller held his head high, as he chose his own path to make changes in a segregated world and racist, military institution. Of course, racial changes never came easy for him during his short naval career.

Nevertheless, working below deck on warships, in a menial, supportive role (Messman Second Class), Miller rose to the occasion and became a fierce fighting man, by taking control of big Navy guns on the respective warship he was assigned — without specialized training — which was predominantly in the hands, so to speak, of only white seamen at that time. But Miller still became a naval combatant and military hero.