Dorie Miller mans anti-aircraft gun at Pearl Harbor

On December 7, 1941, Navy Mess Attendant Dorie Miller — barred from combat positions because of his race — 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. He was later awarded the Navy Cross, the first Black sailor to receive it, after NAACP pressure forced the Navy to acknowledge his heroism.