Posted on 06/27/2025 7:46:40 AM PDT by bitt
USNS Harvey Milk will be the USNS Oscar V. Peterson.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the new name for the naval ship USNS Harvey Milk will be the USNS Oscar V. Peterson.
"We are taking the politics out of ship naming," Hegseth said in a statement to officially announce the name change.
Why It Matters Hegseth has vowed to uproot what he has characterized as the woke agenda from the military, restoring what he has called the "warrior ethos" and renaming the USNS Harvey Milk is part of that broader drive.
Harvey Milk was California's first openly gay politician and the ship, a fleet replenishment oiler, was originally named in his honor in 2016 under the Obama Administration.
He had served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War but had to leave the service due to his sexuality or face court-martial, before embarking on a career in politics and civil rights activism.
Oscar Peterson was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his WWII service in the U.S. Navy, having died of his wounds during a battle after an act of self-sacrifice that saved other lives.
"We're not renaming the ship to anything political. This is not about political activists, unlike the previous administration," Hegseth said. "Instead, we're renaming the ship after a United States Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, as it should be. People want to be proud of the ship they're sailing in."
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
The piano player?
The Canadian piano player?
How about the USS Neal N. Bob.
Did you know that the guy who played “Scotty” in the original Star Trek lost a finger serving in the Canadian military during WWII or Korea (can’t recall which). Also,the guy who played Mr Granger in the BBC comedy “Are You Being Served?” was a war hero for the British Navy during WWII.
Awhile back I read the online biography of Bea Arthur, from the TV show ‘Golden Girls’. She was a big liberal. But to my surprise, she was also a Marine Corps veteran from WW2.
That truly was the Greatest Generation.
It might be a good idea to change the names of all the “Dr. Martin Luther King Drive Jr.” streets to Oscar Peterson Boulevard.
Or the USS Desmond Doss.
Navy CHIEF Peterson. Good call. Medal of Honor (posthumously) recipient in WWII.
Agree 100%...The Greatest Generation. So I assume that Bea Arthur didn’t like Hitler which is completely admirable. But I’ll wager that she had no problem with Stalin...Mao...Kim Il Sung...Ho Chi Minh...
Peterson’s official Medal of Honor citation reads:
For extraordinary courage and conspicuous heroism above and beyond the call of duty while in charge of a repair party during an attack on the U.S.S. Neosho by enemy Japanese aerial forces on 7 May 1942. Lacking assistance because of injuries to the other members of his repair party and severely wounded himself, Peterson, with no concern for his own life, closed the bulkhead stop valves and in so doing received additional burns which resulted in his death. His spirit of self-sacrifice and loyalty, characteristic of a fine seaman, was in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.
Hegseth knows how to fight the culture war. Those who control the culture will eventually control the government.
OK...I could go with that. Just because he refused to carry a gun doesn’t mean he didn’t serve bravely and selflessly.
I’m amazed how these people have confiscated the word “liberal”. A “liberal” aligns more with a Libertarian bent, not one where liberals of today are where they want to control everyone and everything. Let’s just call them what they are: Socialists and Communists.
A small vocal group of Canadians would be livid at our apparent misappropriation;
Americans boldly ‘stealing’ the name of one of their cultural icons. It would be ‘51st State Rage’ all over again.
“This means WAR!!”
It doesn’t “sing.”
Now do the Bush and Clinton CVNs and replace with Midway and Coral Sea!
And here I thought it was bad luck to rename a ship.....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.