“An unidentified Negro...” is what the New York Times called Dorie Miller in their Dec. 21, 1941* issue. His name wasn’t released until March 13, 1942, yet his heroism occurred on Dec 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor. Why did it take so long to “identify” him?Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote:
“Although Miller’s acts of heroism were mentioned in the first navy dispatches, he was referred to simply as “an unidentified Negro messman. The Navy, it seems, did not want the first hero of the war to be a black man.”
A little more than 60 years ago this country would only let blacks in the navy serve as messman. Miller, a cook, wasn’t even taught to fire a gun according to Goodwin, yet his heroics included “Firing a 50 caliber Browning anti-aircraft machine gun for 15 minutes during the attack until he ran out of ammo (Pearl Harbor.org).
Have we Americans changed so much? Then we couldn’t even acknowledge a black hero. Are we ready for a black president or are we still too prejudiced in the United States? I keep asking myself that question: Are we ready? My answer is always the same: I don’t know how many closet racists there are out there but I fear there are a huge amount of them. Is this a case of the Democrats replaying George McGovern? In the 1970’s Democrats believed the country was a lot more progressive than it actually was which led to a huge defeat in 1972 – actually a landslide defeat.
More on Dorie Miller, according to Goodwin, the ship’s cook (don’t skip this part):
“...raced through flaming oil to carry his captain to safety. Seizing a machine gun left beside a dead gunner, Miller, without any weapons training, began to fire at the oncoming Japanese planes, downing one or maybe two of the enemy aircraft.”
The “Unidentified Negro”, Dorie Miller, was awarded the Navy Cross, the Navy’s highest honor, by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz on May 27,1942, for heroism on board USS West Virginia (BB-48) during the Pearl Harbor Attack, December 7 1941.
He was killed November 24, 1943 in the line of duty.
*Although the footnote in Goodwin's book reads 1942 here, I believe it is a mistake and should be 1941.
9 comments:
There will be some people who will not vote for women, blacks, gays, etc., but the later generations of voters are a much more intergrated group. Since the republican spin machine is doing everything it can to make sure Hilary Clinton runs against John McCain, it appears they are afraid of Obama, who will not energize the republican base as Clinton would.
I hope you are right reader. You have more faith in Americans to do the right thing than I do. I look at Americans as the people stupid enough to put Bush in twice. Why not put in the Bush clone...? It all makes sense in Bizzaro world and the US of A.
I am not black, but I looked at Dorie Miller's photo and I got goosebumps. I felt his pride as he stood there with the cross upon his chest and I too was proud of him and our country. I hope we can be color - blind in our voting. I will vote for Obama and remember Dorie when I do. Thank you.
It is a horrible fact that we must face. The stupid ignorant people in our midst are deeply afraid of anyone not exactly like them. I too am fearful that there may well be enough of them who will go vote to defeat Obama. If so the agony of having a Bush clone in office would serve them right.
Obama's race for the White House is changing my view of whites. He knew something about them that I did not know.
Upon becoming an adult, I had to figure out a way of working with and understanding whites. My basic premise was that they are all racists on different levels, that they could not appreciate me as a person or my skill levels, and that I would be viewed only on the color of my skin. I adjusted my expectations and interaction protocols accordingly. Over the years I met and worked with a few outliers who varied from the norm, but most fit neatly within my theory. . . until now.
The whites in North Carolina and Indiana stood up and provided leadership for the nation. Could it be that America is ready to close the door on racial inequality in my lifetime?
I may have to construct a new operational theory. . .
Thank you for sharing...this is the kind of dialogue I was trying to provoke...what you don't find in the newspaper.
Don't know about the rest of this country but I, for one, am more than ready.
that's it? Boy, trying to inspire some frank responses is like pulling teeth. How are we ever going to go forward if no one will talk about this.
In Larry King's interview with Jon Stewart, Larry, asked him about the primaries.
Jon had this line that just has to be shared:
Larry asked Jon if America was ready for a woman or a black president.
Jon looked at him quizzically and said "This is such a non-question ... Did anyone ask us in 2000 if Americans were ready for a MORON?
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