While serving in the United States Navy as a Mess Attendant First Class, Doris Miller was aboard the battleship USS WEST VIRGINIA when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft during their assault on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. He assisted in moving his mortally wounded commanding officer to a place of greater safety. Later, he manned a machine gun in an attempt to shoot down enemy aircraft. For his actions, he was awarded the Navy Cross. Doris Miller was killed when a Japanese submarine torpedoed and sank his ship, the escort aircraft carrier USS Liscome Bay, on 24 November 1943.
