Free Republic

One of the first U.S. heroes of World War II will be the namesake of one of America’s latest nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. On Monday, the Navy is expected to formally announce its decision to name a Ford-class aircraft carrier after Mess Attendant 2nd Class Doris “Dorie” Miller. He will be the first African-American to have an aircraft carrier named in his honor. Petty Officer Miller also was the first African-American to receive the Navy Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor, for his heroic actions during the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor while he was assigned...

No. 68 has left the bay. The Navy aircraft carrier Nimitz, which bears the familiar number 68 on its tower, departed San Diego Monday morning, bound for a year of maintenance work in Washington state. Its 2,800-sailor crew called San Diego home for almost a decade. The $4 billion flat-top leaves a question mark in its place at Coronado’s North Island Naval Air Station. The Navy has not revealed whether the Nimitz will return to San Diego in a year – restoring the city to its status as a three-carrier port – or stay in the Puget Sound region. The...