Why Would We Rename the USS Doris Miller Aircraft Carrier?

By Jim Geraghty

Friday, August 21, 2026

 

You might think that with the Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute of Peace, the “Trump accounts” for children, the TrumpRx prescription drug program, the forthcoming TrumpIRA, the forthcoming “Trump class” of U.S. battleships, the Trump-branded U.S. National Park passes, the Trump-branded U.S. passports, Donald J. Trump International Airport in Palm Beach, and all his personal properties*, enough things in this world are named after Donald Trump.

 

Apparently, not everyone in the U.S. Navy agrees.

 

CNN:

 

The US Navy is working to rename an aircraft carrier under construction that was set to honor a Black sailor hailed for his heroic actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor, three sources familiar with internal discussions told CNN.

 

During President Donald Trump’s first term, the Navy announced that the Ford-class carrier would be called the USS Doris Miller, recognizing an enlisted sailor who helped defend US forces from Japan’s attack.

 

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.

 

The Navy is looking instead to rename another warship after Miller, according to one of the sources, and is recommending him for the Medal of Honor, the highest decoration for military valor. The final authorization for the award is up to Congress and approval from Trump.

 

NBC News:

 

Navy leadership is discussing renaming a Navy aircraft carrier after President Donald Trump, according to two U.S. officials.

 

The ship, which is still under construction, has been set to be named the USS Doris Miller in honor of an enlisted sailor who famously staffed an anti-aircraft gun during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, during World War II despite not having been trained on the weapon. Miller, a mess attendant, grabbed the gun during the attack and is credited with shooting down at least one Japanese plane and dragging wounded U.S. sailors to safety.

 

Miller was the first black service member to receive the Navy Cross — the Navy’s second-highest honor.

 

The NBC News article states, “Aircraft carriers are usually named after presidents.” That is currently the trend, and it started with the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt; that ship was named four weeks after Roosevelt passed away. But in subsequent years, many aircraft carriers were named after battles, admirals, or other concepts, such as the Enterprise. Currently active aircraft carriers include the USS Nimitz, named after Admiral Chester Nimitz, the USS Carl Vinson, named after a congressman, and the USS John C. Stennis, named after a senator.

 

The U.S. Navy has ordered, but not begun construction on, the USS William J. Clinton and the USS George W. Bush. [Insert joke about the Clinton penetrating unsuspecting enemy defenses here; I suspect the Bush will be known for direct, simple attacks.]

 

If we’re naming aircraft carriers in sequential order of presidents, we still would need a USS Barack Obama. The USS Jimmy Carter is a fast-attack submarine; it can descend rapidly, much like its namesake’s approval rating.

 

The next U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to be built, which would presumably have the hull number CVN-84, could be named the USS Donald J. Trump with minimal controversy, or at least as little controversy as anything involving Trump could have. That ship would probably be commissioned in 2038 or so; Trump would be 92 years old by then.

 

Withdrawing the name of the USS Doris Miller is such a terrible idea that it’s hard to believe anyone with any responsibility ever seriously proposed or discussed it.

 

The National Museum of the Pacific War summarizes Miller’s short, but exemplary life:

 

On Sunday 7 December 1941, Mess Attendant Third Class Doris Miller was retrieving laundry when the Japanese bombs fell on Pearl Harbor. He arrived on deck, where he encountered his mortally wounded commanding officer and carried him to safety. He proceeded to one of the machine guns and although black sailors never received training on the anti-aircraft guns, he opened fire on the Japanese planes overhead. After the gun ran out of ammunition, Miller assisted in evacuating sailors after the order to abandon ship and was one of the last three men to leave the vessel as it sank. Even after leaving the ship, he helped numerous sailors to safety.

 

Doris Miller’s heroic actions stirred the nation, but he was not formally identified or recognized for his role in saving lives at Pearl Harbor for a few months. Accounts circulated about an unnamed black sailor who had manned a machine gun despite never firing a gun before, but it wasn’t until March 1942 that the Pittsburgh Courier identified the sailor as Doris Miller. Still, debates in the political spheres stalled any formal recognition or award for Miller’s actions. In May of 1942, Miller was presented with the Navy Cross by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, making Miller the first black sailor to receive such an honor. Miller’s image was used for recruitment posters, and he was even recalled to the United States for a war bonds tour before returning to active service in the Pacific.

 

Doris Miller continued to serve in the Navy as a mess attendant until 24 November 1943, when his carrier, USS Liscome Bay, was hit by a torpedo during the Gilbert Islands Campaign and its bomb magazine exploded, and most of the crew were killed. Miller was “presumed dead” and although his body was never recovered, he was declared killed in action after a year. Miller was 24 years old.

 

On January 20, 2020, acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas B. Modly announced the naming during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony honoring African Americans of the Greatest Generation in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii:

 

Secretary Modly noted that throughout the history of our nation, the finest of every generation have stepped forward to serve the cause of freedom around the world even if they were denied those same freedoms at home simply because of the color of their skin.

 

On December 7, 1941, Doris Miller did not let the prejudice of others define him, he said.

 

“Dorie Miller was the son of a sharecropper,” said Modly. “And, he was an American Sailor — so designated by the uniform that he wore — the same uniform all Sailors wore, and still wear, regardless of race, ethnic background, or political persuasion.”

 

The good news is that neither CNN nor NBC News reports that President Trump himself has suggested, requested, or ordered the name change. No, this is entirely the work of some unctuous sycophant(s) trying to come up with some new way to impress the boss. Why stop at just renaming the ship? You might as well put his face on it and make the whole thing gold.

 

As with the efforts to fire Lisa Cook at the Federal Reserve, the hunt for another excuse to prosecute Olympic canoeist David Hearn, and decisions to put the president’s face on giant banners on federal buildings, the Trump administration specializes in picking stupid fights with no political upside.

 

*This list does not include the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, but note that the Kennedy Center board voted earlier this month to inscribe President Trump’s name on the building beneath the main signage.

 

ADDENDUM: The U.S. national debt, as of August 19, is $40 trillion.

 

On August 13, 2025 — a bit more than one year ago — the U.S. national debt was just past $37 trillion.

 

We’ve added $3 trillion in new debt in about a year.

 

There was a time in Obama’s first term when an annual deficit of around $1 trillion was seen as shocking and terrible. We’ve now tripled that pace, and we’re not in a Great Recession, we’re not dealing with a global pandemic, and, while we’re fighting a war — on and off, depending on what Trump has written on Truth Social lately — that war’s cost is just a tiny fraction of the debt accumulated this year — $113 billion. In other words, about 3.7 percent of new debt accumulated in the past year is because of military operations against Iran.

 

Baby Boomers now range in age from 62 to 80. Sixty-two is the earliest age you can collect Social Security, although that reduces your benefits. There are an estimated 67 million Boomers, and almost all of them are collecting Social Security or will be very soon. In 2025, a record 4.18 million Americans reached age 65, which is the eligibility age for Medicare.

 

The U.S. labor force participation rate is 61.4 percent; pre-Covid, it was 63.3 percent, and back in 2007, it was 66 percent. It’s the most predictable problem in the world, ignored by both parties for decades: too many people collecting benefits and taking money out, not enough workers paying taxes and putting money in.