About Dorie Miller

More About Dorie Miller

Doris "Dorie" Miller was born in Waco, Texan on October 12, 1919 to Henrietta and Connery Miller. He was the third of four sons. He often helped around the house, cooking meals and doing laundry, as well as working the fields. Dorie was a good student and a fullback on the football team at Waco's A.J. Moore High School.

He worked on his father's farm until enlisting in the United States Navy as Mess Attendant, Third Class in September 1939. Following his training at the Naval Training Station in Norfolk, Virginia, he was assigned to the ammunition ship USS Pyro (AE-1) where he served as a Mess Attendant, and on January 2, 1940 was transferred to USS West Virginia (BB-48), where he became the ship's heavyweight boxing champion. In July of that year he had temporary duty aboard USS Nevada (BB-36) at Secondary Battery Gunnery School. He returned to the USS West Virginia in August, and was serving on that battleship when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Because of his physical prowess, he was assigned to carry wounded fellow Sailors to places of greater safety. Then an officer ordered him to the bridge to aid the mortally wounded Captain of the ship. He subsequently manned a 50 caliber Browning anti-aircraft machine gun until he ran out of ammunition and was ordered to abandon ship.

Dorie described firing the machine gun during the battle, a weapon which he had not been trained to operate: "It wasn't hard. I just pulled the trigger and she worked fine. I had watched the others with these guns. I guess I fired her for about fifteen minutes. I think I got one of those Jap planes. They were diving pretty close to us."

On 13 December 1941, Dorie reported to USS Indianapolis (CA-35), and subsequently returned to the west coast of the United States in November 1942. He was commended by the Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox on April 1, 1942, and he received the Navy Cross on May 27, 1942, which Fleet Admiral (then Admiral) Chester W. Nimitz, the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet personally presented to Miller on board aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) for his extraordinary courage in battle. His rank was raised to Mess Attendant First Class on June 1, 1942.

Dorie was assigned to the newly constructed USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56) in the spring of 1943. He was on board that escort carrier during Operation Galvanic, the seizure of Makin and Tarawa Atolls in the Gilbert Islands. Liscome Bay's aircraft supported operations ashore in November 1943. At 5:10 a.m. on November 24, while cruising near Butaritari Island, a single torpedo from a Japanese submarine struck the escort carrier near the stern. The aircraft bomb magazine detonated a few moments later, sinking the warship within minutes. Listed as missing following the loss of that escort carrier, Dorie Miller was officially presumed dead November 25, 1944, a year and a day after the loss of Liscome Bay.