Free Republic

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Pearl Harbor Monday, the U.S. Navy is expected to announce that a new aircraft carrier will be named after Mess Attendant 2nd Class Doris Miller, the first African American to receive the Navy Cross for valor for his actions on Dec. 7, 1941, when he manned a machine gun on the USS West Virginia to fire back at attacking Japanese planes. “I think that Doris Miller is an American hero simply because of what he represents as a young man going beyond the call of what’s expected,” said Doreen Ravenscroft, president of Cultural...

Some of the vets needed canes or wheelchairs to navigate the vast decks of the new Navy amphibious assault ship Makin Island...Legions of military VIPs will attend this morning...None will be held in higher esteem than the World War II Marine Raiders who sacked an enemy-held island in the Western Pacific, boosting American morale during the dark early days of the war, when the enemy seemed unstoppable. ...“Just to be able to sit down and have a beer with these guys — I'm star-struck,” said Lt. Cmdr. Matt Polzin, 39, of Bay City, Mich., who served as a guide for...

The United States Navy is taking a big leap forward in "greening" its 50,000-strong, gas-guzzling fleet of vehicles, committing to a 50 percent cut in oil use by 2015, the Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus declared in a speech at the Naval Energy Forum. That's not all. Mabus said the Navy will attempt to get 50 percent of its total energy from alternative sources by 2020, including its ships, aircraft, tanks, vehicles and bases. Currently, that figure is at 17 percent. The reason: The Navy's imported oil addiction is socking the service with billions of dollars in losses. The...

The U.S. Navy has selected the name Makin Island for its next amphibious assault ship, which honors the daring raid carried out by Marine Corps Companies A and B, Second Raider Battalion, on Japanese-held Makin Island, in the Gilbert Islands, Aug. 17-18, 1942. The raid was launched from the submarines USS Nautilus and USS Argonaut and succeeded in routing the enemy forces based there, gaining valuable intelligence. The raid’s leader, Marine Corps Lt. Col. Evan Carlson was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions, while Marine Corps Sgt. Clyde Thompson, was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism and was...