No US carrier has ever been named for a sitting president
The US Navy is working to rename an aircraft carrier under construction that had previously been planned to honor Doris Miller, the Black sailor celebrated for his heroism at Pearl Harbor, and instead name it after Donald Trump, according to three sources familiar with internal discussions. CNN reported that two of those sources said the Navy has held conversations about renaming the carrier to honor the sitting president.
The carrier had previously been announced by the Navy as the future USS Doris Miller, a tribute to Miller’s actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Miller, a Navy cook, was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions aboard the battleship USS West Virginia. According to the Navy Cross citation, Miller “despite enemy strafing and bombing and in the face of a serious fire, assisted in moving his Captain, who had been mortally wounded, to a place of greater safety, and later manned and operated a machine gun directed at enemy Japanese attacking aircraft until ordered to leave the bridge.” He reportedly shot down four to six Japanese bombers during the attack despite having no formal training on the weapons system.
Miller died at sea in 1943, with two-thirds of the crew lost to a Japanese torpedo aboard the Liscome Bay. His family has long advocated for his Navy Cross to be upgraded to the Medal of Honor. Cuba Gooding Jr portrayed him in the 2001 film “Pearl Harbor.”
The reported plan has drawn public criticism. No carrier in the US Navy has ever been named for a sitting president. Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a Democrat and retired Navy officer, wrote on X: “Dorie Miller’s bravery at Pearl Harbor is legendary and resulted in him being awarded the Navy Cross. This aircraft carrier shouldn’t be renamed at all, let alone for Donald Trump, who has denigrated servicemembers like Dorie Miller who have paid the ultimate price.”