Dorie Miller mans anti-aircraft gun at Pearl Harbor

On December 7, 1941, Navy Mess Attendant Dorie Miller — assigned to a menial role because Black sailors were barred from combat positions — manned an anti-aircraft gun on the USS West Virginia during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, shooting down multiple enemy planes despite no formal gunnery training. His heroism was initially suppressed; he was later awarded the Navy Cross, the first Black sailor to receive it, after NAACP pressure.