Biography

Miller is a U.S. Navy mess attendant and cook who earned the Navy Cross during World War 2. He is best known for his heroic actions aboard the battleship West Virginia during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. During the attack, he helped several sailors who were wounded, and he shot down several Japanese planes while manning an anti-aircraft gun for which he hadn't received formal instruction. The resulting publicity for Miller actions in the Black press made him an iconic emblem in the fight for civil rights for Black Americans. He was killed while serving aboard the escort carrier Liscome Bay when it was sunk by a Japanese submarine during the Battle of Makin in the Gilbert Islands. In January 19, 2020, the Navy announced that a Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear powered aircraft carrier, CVN-81, scheduled to be commissioned in 2032 would be named after Miller.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous

Mess Attendant 2nd Class Doris Miller was the first African American to receive the Navy Cross for valor in 1942.

While serving in the United States Navy as a Mess Attendant First Class, Doris Miller was aboard the battleship USS WEST VIRGINIA when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft during their assault on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. He assisted in moving his mortally wounded commanding officer to a place of greater safety. Later, he manned a machine gun in an attempt to shoot down enemy aircraft. For his actions, he was awarded the Navy Cross. Doris Miller was killed when a Japanese submarine torpedoed and sank his ship, the escort aircraft carrier USS Liscome Bay, on 24 November 1943.

He was played by Elven Havard in Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), and by Cuba Gooding Jr. in Pearl Harbor (2001).