December 1941

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.

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.