Doris “Dorie” Miller, a Pearl Harbor hero and the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross, is honored in Austin with the Doris Miller Auditorium, located at 2300 Rosewood Ave.. The auditorium, part of the Doris Miller Recreation Center, has served as a hub for social and cultural events in East Austin for decades.
From Wikipedia:
Doris “Dorie” Miller (October 12, 1919 – November 24, 1943) 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[1][2] aboard the battleship USS West Virginia, Miller helped carry wounded sailors to safety during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He then manned 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]
Miller received the Navy Cross from Admiral Chester Nimitz on May 27, 1942, but many sailors and naval officers believed that Miller’s heroism deserved a Medal of Honor.[5] Miller was nominated for a Medal of Honor by a congressman from Michigan and a Senator from New York, and the black press enthusiastically campaigned for Miller to receive this decoration. Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, who opposed black sailors serving the United States in any combat role, recommended against Miller receiving the Medal of Honor.[6] No black sailor, soldier, or Marine was awarded the Medal of Honor between 1941 and 1945, and in 1996 Vernon J. Baker was the only black veteran of World War II to be awarded this decoration while yet alive.[7]
Dorie as a native of Waco. His parents were Henrietta and Conery Miller. He had three brothers, one of which served in the army during World War Two. While attending Moore High School in Waco, he was a fullback on the football team and worked on his father’s farm. He enlisted with the US Navey as a Mess Attendant 3rd Class. His intention was to earn money for his family.
He was assigned to an ammunition Ship. It was the USS Pyro where he served as a mess attendant. He was then transferred to the USS, West Virginia. This is where he became the ship’s heavyweight boxing champion. He was then transferred to the USS, Nevada, where he became a secondary Battery Gunnery School attendee. But it was when he was serving on the West Virginia When the attack on Pearl Harbor took place.
When Dorie enlisted, there was no war. He was doing it mostly to earn extra money for his family but he was on the USS, West Virginia, on December. 7th 1941 when Pearl Harbor was Attacked. That morning he had arisen at 6:00 AM and was collecting laundry when the alarm was sounded. They were under attack. He headed for his battle station, only to discover, that torpedo damage had wrecked it, So he went onto the 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.
The USS, West Virginia, would eventually sink to the bottom of the harbor.
At 5:10 AM on November 24th, 1943 while cruising near the Butaritari Islands, A single torpedo detonated a few moments later, sinking the warship Liscome Bay within minutes. Listed as missing, Miller was officially presumed dead November 25, 1944, a year and a day after the loss of the ship. Only 272 sailors survived the sinking of the Liscome Bay, while 646 died.
