Exclusive: Navy weighs renaming carrier slated to honor Black war hero, potentially switching it to Trump

Key Points:

• The US Navy is considering renaming the aircraft carrier USS Doris Miller, originally named to honor Doris Miller, a Black sailor recognized for heroism during the Pearl Harbor attack, with internal discussions reportedly exploring naming the carrier after former President Donald Trump.
• The Navy plans to honor Miller by naming another warship after him and is recommending him for the Medal of Honor, although final approval requires Congressional and presidential authorization; Miller’s family was not informed about the renaming or the Medal of Honor recommendation.
• The renaming effort aligns with a broader Pentagon initiative under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to revise military asset names, including removing those chosen for diversity and inclusion reasons, and follows a 2025 Navy commission reviewing naming conventions for ships.
• The USS Doris Miller was the first aircraft carrier named after an enlisted sailor and an African American, marking a significant symbolic gesture; the Navy has stopped using the name internally, referring to the ship only by its hull number CVN-81 as it approaches its keel-laying ceremony scheduled for late 2024.
• Historically, most US aircraft carriers are named after presidents or notable military figures, but the naming of USS Doris Miller was a departure intended to highlight the heroism of enlisted sailors and promote unity within the Navy and the nation.