روز چهارم

“FOR DISTINGUISHED DEVOTION TO DUTY”

Some months later Dorie Miller was serving on an aircraft carrier when Admiral Chester Nimitz, the Commander of the Pacific Fleet, came aboard to preside over a special awards ceremony.

In stentorian tones the Admiral presented Miller with the prestigious Navy Cross, commending him for a singular act of valor and “disregard for his own personal safety.” Miller’s heroism helped to shatter the bias against African-Americans in the armed forces.

Although he could have accepted a sinecure at a U.S. naval base, Dorie chose to remain in the combat zone where he was killed in action in December, 1943.