Dorie Miller, Messman (1919-1943) Hero at Pearl Harbor
A messman aboard the U.S.S. Arizona, Dorie Miller, had his first taste of combat at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, when he manned a machine gun and shot down four Japanese planes.
Born on a farm near Waco, Texas in 1919, Miller was the son of a sharecropper, and grew up to become star fullback on the Moore High School football team in his native city. At 19, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and was nearing the end of his first hitch at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack.
On the infamous morning of December 7th, 1941, Japanese bombers and fighters flew over Pearl Harbor and rained a hail of bombs and bullets on the slumbering U.S. Navel base there. Among the battle vessels sunk and reduced to helpless hulks was the U.S.S. Arizona, the ship on which black messman Dorie Miller was routinely going about his duties collecting laundry when the ear-splitting sounds of battle sirens and exploding shells rent the air. Miller rushed up on deck, and instantly hauled his wounded Captain to safety.
Moments later he sprang into action behind an anti-aircraft gun he had never been trained to operate. Firing calmly and accurately, he shot down four zero fighter planes before the cry to abandon ship was heeded by all survivors.
On May 7th, 1942, messman Dorie Miller was cited for bravery by Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet, who decorated him with the Navy Cross and in doing so acknowledged the nation’s debt to a black man of “extraordinary courage”. The medal did not bring with it an instant promotion, or a transfer to a line of duty, which might have been more in keeping with Miller’s demonstrated aptitude or preferences.
After returning from a trip back to Harlem, in New York City, where he drummed up support for the purchase of U.S. War Bonds, Miller yearned to get back into action. Remaining a messman during the hostilities while aboard the aircraft carrier Lescome Bay, 
he was subsequently promoted to mess attendant Third Class. He was killed in action in the South Pacific in December of 1943, when his ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.
Sailors on board the USS Hoel saw smoke and flame rise at least a thousand feet when the torpedo ripped into Liscome Bay and detonated her bomb magazine.
At 0533, Liscome Bay listed to starboard and sank (in 23 minutes), carrying Admiral Mullinnix, commander of the Air Support Group, Captain Wiltsie, 53 other officers, and 591 enlisted men down with her. 272 of her crew were rescued.
Miller was commended for “distinguished devotion to duty, extreme courage and disregard of his personal safety during the attack.”
USS Liscome Bay survivor, Robert "Bob" E. Haynes Montrose, CO Dec 2003
The American losses sustained at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, were staggering. The United States lost 160 planes to the sneak attacking Japs, and in the confusion of battle five aircraft from USS Enterprise were shot down by friendly fire. Eighteen ships were sunk or damaged, including USS Arizona, the pride of the Pacific Fleet. The dock and hangar facilities were so twisted and mangled that it took months to repair them. In terms of manpower lost, American casualties totaled 3,581. The effect on morale throughout the nation was devastating. The Japs lost 29 planes and 55 airmen. America's situation could have far worse at the end of 1941 if American aircraft carriers had been at Pearl Harbor. Thank God our carriers were at sea which some months later allowed for the incredible, daring Doolittle Raid on Japan's mainland, April 18th, 1942.
Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle (left front), leader of the attacking force, and Captain Marc A. Mitscher, Commanding Officer of USS Hornet (CV-8), pose with a 500-pound bomb and USAAF aircrew members during ceremonies on Hornet's flight deck, while the raid task force was en route to the launching point.
Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, USAAF (front), leader of the raiding force, wires a Japanese medal to a 500-pound bomb, during ceremonies on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), shortly before his force of sixteen B-25B bombers took off for Japan. The planes were launched on April 18th, 1942. The wartime censor has obscurred unit patches of the Air Force flight crew members in the background.
Japanese friendship medal heading back to Tojo air mail.
USAAF aircrewmen preparing .50 caliber machine gun ammunition on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while the carrier was steaming toward the mission's launching point. Three of their B-25B bombers are visible. That in the upper left is tail #s 40-2298, mission plane # 6, piloted by Lieutenant Dean E. Hallmark. That in top center is tail # 40-2283. It was mission plane # 5, piloted by Captain David M. Jones. Both attacked targets in the Tokyo area. Lt. Hallmark, captured by the Japanese in China, was executed by them at Shanghai on 15 October 1942.
USAAF aircrewmen preparing .50 caliber machine gun ammunition on the flight deck of USS Hornet (CV-8), while the carrier was steaming toward the mission's launching point. Ammunition box in center is marked "A.P. M2, Incndy. M1, Trcr. M1", indicating the ammunition types inside: armor piercing, incendiary and tracer. Note wooden flight deck planking, with metal aircraft tiedown strips in place of every eighth plank.
Sabine (AO-25) refuels Enterprise (CV-6) in rough weather, during the approach phase of the Doolittle Raid on Japan, April 17th, 1942. Note configuration of refueling gear, and spare anchor stowed on the oiler's after superstructure bulkhead.
USS Hornet crowded with 16 B-25 heads toward Tokyo.
On route to Tokyo, the task force was joined by Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey on board the Enterprise which would finally provide it air cover the rest of the way. 
Each of the remaining raiders successfully launched despite stormy seas. 
B-25 lifts off from USS Hornet on Doolittle raid of Tokyo.
Doolittle's B-25 waits for the signal from Lt. Edgar Osborn before taking off from the USS Hornet on April 18th, 1942.
Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, USAAF, (center) with members of his flight crew and Chinese officials in China after the 18 April 1942 attack on Japan. Those present are (from left to right): Staff Sergeant Fred A. Braemer, Bombardier; Staff Sergeant Paul J. Leonard, Flight Engineer/Gunner; General Ho, director of the Branch Government of Western Chekiang Province; Lieutenant Richard E. Cole, Copilot; Lt.Col. Doolittle, Pilot and mission commander; Henry H. Shen, bank manager; Lieutenant Henry A. Potter, Navigator; Chao Foo Ki, secretary of the Western Chekiang Province Branch Government.
Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle 
Of the 80 raiders, three died as a result of their landings and eight were captured by the Japanese. The rest escaped to friendly territory with widespread help from courageous Chinese townspeople perhaps hundreds of thousands of which would soon be killed by the Japanese Army in retribution. One of the pilots, Ted Lawson who flew plane #7 the ruptured duck -- would see his story published a year later and a year later that Hollywood had made it into a movie with Van Johnson, Spencer Tracy and Robert Mitchum (i.e. 'Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'.) Doolittle, who was sure he would be court-martialed for having lost all his planes, was instead awarded the Medal of Honor, promoted to brigadier general and given command first of the 12th Air force in North Africa, then the 14th in the Mediterranean and finally the mighty 8th in England and Okinawa.
Location where three American flyers were executed by the Japanese as war criminals (above). Despite his horrific experiences as a POW, raider Jacob DeShazer (in both photos) after the war returned as a missionary to Japan and helped convert -- among others -- Mitsuo Fuchida to Christianity. Both men remained friends until Mr. Fuchida passed on.
"That morning [December 7th] … I lifted the curtain of warfare by dispatching that cursed order, and I put my whole effort into the war that followed. … [But] after buying and reading the Bible, my mind was strongly impressed and captivated. I think I can say today without hesitation that God's grace has been set upon me." -Mitsuo Fuchida-
Captain Fuchida had many close brushes with death, including six crashes at sea. Shortly before the battle of Midway he underwent an appendectomy on board ship. Though he did not fly, he was in the thick of that battle. A bomb-hit on his ship broke both his legs and hurled him into the sea, from which he was rescued and sent back to Japan. Had he not been out of action he would have commanded the Japanese air force at Guadalcanal and might well have met the fate of many of his fellow officers who died there.
When I began the research for this posting a very different ending was in mind. Being totally unaware of the what transpired between Jacob DeShazer & Mitsuo Fuchida, the ending was changed to what you see. My conclusion is, if these two men could forgive each other, anyone can.
M. Espinola
(This posting is dedicated to my father, Navy Lt., M. F. Espinola, who bravely served in the Pacific theatre & shall be reading this.)
