‘That’s just wrong’ – local youth says of Dorie Miller’s name possibly being removed from ship
Brown spent the summer working on a plan to rebrand the Dorie Miller Park in Lewisburg in order to ensure that more people know about Miller’s heroism in battle. Now, Miller’s name may be removed from an aircraft carrier.
By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV
LEWISBURG, W.Va. – Gavin Brown is a 22-year old student at Concord University. He grew up in Lewisburg, just down the street from Dorie Miller Park.
“I grew up playing in that park but didn’t really know about him.”
That changed this year. While working as a Graphic Designer over the summer for the Greenbrier Historical Society, he developed a deep interest in the namesake of his childhood park.
“I went to the North House Museum in Lewisburg and learned all about him. He was a war hero,” Brown said. “The first World War II war hero. He was trained for combat but was assigned to the mess hall. When he went out to shoot down those planes with the anti-aircraft gun, that bravery was inspiring. People should know about him because of what he has done. I feel like he’s a symbol of strength to many people, not just Black people.”
“He mattered,” Brown said. “He still matters today.”
The Navy responds to reports Miller will no longer be the namesake for a new aircraft carrier
To locals like Brown, the news first reported by CNN last week–that the USS Dorie Miller would no longer be named after the Pearl Harbor war hero and instead possibly be named for President Donald Trump–came as a shock.
“My reaction was disappointment,” said Brown. “I feel like it was well deserved that Dorie Miller was supposed to get an aircraft carrier named after him. He earned it after what he had done in Pearl Harbor and after. It feels like what Donald Trump has done is strip that away from Dorie Miller.”
“If he doesn’t get it, that’s just wrong,” Brown added. “It’s history being erased.”
Brown spent the summer working on a plan to rebrand the Dorie Miller Park in Lewisburg in order to ensure that more people know about Miller’s heroism in battle. He says that effort is still underway with the Greenbrier Historical Society and is important to him personally.
“My grandfather was in the Navy,” Brown said. “This news (of Miller being the namesake for the carrier announced in 2022) warmed his heart. Seeing it taken away is a slap in the face not just for Black people but for history in general…I feel like President Donald Trump should have second thoughts on doing this.”
RealWV reached out to the US Navy for official comment. Neither confirming nor denying the reports, an official told us via phone, “The Navy has no announcement to share at this time.”
USS Dorie Miller announced in 2020
The initial decision to name an aircraft carrier after Miller came in 2020 on Martin Luther King Jr Day in order to honor Miller for his heroism. It would mark the first time an aircraft carrier would be named after an enlisted sailor, and the first aircraft carrier to be named for an African American.
Miller served as a Petty Officer Third Class, working as a cook in the mess hall on December 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Despite not being trained, he ran to the deck and manned a 50-caliber Browning anti-aircraft gun, successfully taking down a Japanese plane and buying enough time for many of his crewmates to flee the ship and live to fight another day.
Internally in the Navy, the vessel is referred to as CVN-81. When it was commissioned in 2020, it was to be completed by 2032. Earlier this spring, the Navy delayed that completion date to 2034.
Currently, the Navy operates 11 aircraft carriers with several scheduled for decommissioning once the new class of Gerald Ford carriers are ready. The next three are scheduled to be named after Dorie Miller, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. It is tradition to name carriers after former presidents but not sitting presidents.
Trading spaces?
Now, CVN-81 could perhaps be named after the sitting executive, Pres. Donald Trump, according to reporting by CNN.
Where would that leave Dorie Miller? He has been nominated for the Medal of Honor and could also have a non-carrier named after him. His family has advocated for him to receive the Medal of Honor for years. It would require approval by Congress and the President on the recommendation of the Secretary of War.
“’The effort to rename the USS Doris Miller has been underway since earlier this year,’ the sources said. ‘Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao and his office have also been looking into updating the official guidance for how ships should be named and specifying who they can be named after, including presidents, two of the sources said,'” according to the CNN story.
‘Changing the name…would risk diminishing the significance of a remarkable American’
Janice Cooley, a board member with the Greenbrier Historical Society who was also named a History Hero in 2026 by the state, spoke to RealWV via phone on Saturday.
“Changing the name of the aircraft carrier honoring Dorie Miller would risk diminishing the significance of a remarkable American whose courage and sacrifices surpassed politics, race, and circumstances,” she said. “Preserving his name is a meaningful way to ensure that future generations remember both his heroism and the contributions of those who served our country – despite discrimination.”
Cooley said on a trip to Dallas, Texas, in 2025, she visited an exhibit on Dorie Miller. Because of Miller’s prominence in Greenbrier County, she spoke to the exhibit’s curator about his historical impact.
“He mentioned that he was aware the carrier may be renamed,” Cooley remembered. “He said it was possibly being renamed after President Trump. That was last year.”
According to CNN’s reporting, “The choice of USS Doris Miller marked the first time an aircraft carrier would honor an enlisted sailor, and the first aircraft carrier to be named for an African American. It’s unclear what the Navy is seeking to change the name of the carrier to, though two of the sources said there have been internal conversations about renaming it to honor Trump. It would be an unprecedented move to name an aircraft carrier after a sitting president.”
Sources say the Navy may rename the USS Dorie Miller in Trump’s honor, name another ship after Miller, and award Miller the Medal of Honor.
RealWV reached out to Sen. Shelly Moore Capito and Lewisburg Mayor Beverly White for comment on the potential change. Neither responded to our request over the weekend.
‘He earned it’
As Gavin Brown heads back to campus for fall classes, he hopes CVN-81 can still be named for Dorie Miller.
“We need to let history be revealed,” he says. “It shows us we can overcome. Erasing the achievement feels like you’ve done hard work for nothing. I don’t want that to happen. Hard work should be rewarded.”
“He earned it.”
