From Parade Magazine, Feb. 24, 2002
Because the
type is so small, it has not been practical to scan the page in Parade that is Walter Scott’s ”Personality Parade.”
But this is the relevant question and answer that relates to the first hero of World War II:
Q. You named pilot Colin P. Kelly Jr. as America’s first hero after
Dec. 7, 1941. If you define hero as “a casualty of war,” you’re correct. But shouldn’t you have acknowledged
Dorie Miller?
-- Sharyn Heiland, Tallahassee, Fla.
A.
Yes. In the attack on Pearl Harbor after Dec. 7, 1941, Miller -- a black mess attendant on the U.S.S West
Virginia – dragged his wounded captain from the exposed bridge, then fired an anti-aircraft machine gun at enemy
planes. In the film Pearl Harbor, Cuba Gooding Jr. played Miller, who received the Navy Cross in May 1942. He died
in 1943, at 24, aboard the U.S.S. Liscome Bay.
Comment: The question and answer here both are ambiguous, referring
to the “first hero after Dec. 7, 1941.”
Capt,
Kelly’s heroism definitely was after Dec. 7 on Dec. 10. Miller’s recognized heroism was during the Pearl Harbor
attack on Dec.7, at the same time Taylor and Welch were in aerial combat with attacking Japanese aircraft over Oahu.
The point
is the U.S. War Dept. named Taylor and Welch as the first two heroes of the war.
In my opinion, had Miller not been black he
would have been the 16th Navy man to be a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
My position
is supported by an interview Tom Brokaw did during the Winter Olympics in 2006 with former Lt. Vernon Baker, a black hero who had his DSC upgraded to the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Clinton in
1987.
During the
interview, Baker said he was walking on a military installation when he met an officer.
The officer
stopped Baker and demanded to know why he was wearing the DSC ribbon.
“Because
I earned it,” said Baker.
“There
is no way you would have been awarded a DSC,” said the other officer. “So take it off.”
--
JMM
