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Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Dorie Miller, Hero of Pearl Harbor
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Dorie Miller, Hero of Pearl Harbor

Artifact IDMO 2005.12.377
Object Type Print
Artist (American painter, 1903-1984)
Date1942
Mediumpaper, ink
Dimensionsoverall (image 7 7/8"h x 5 3/4"w) H 11 in x W 8 in (27.9 cm x 20.3 cm )
Physical DescriptionA color print of a painted portrait of WWII U.S. Navy sailor Dorie Miller. The head and chest portrait, against a sea and sky background, shows him wearing his white enlisted full dress uniform. Pinned to the left side of his uniform is his Navy Cross Medal lapel pin. The artist's facsimile signature is in the lower left corner of the portrait: Gurdon Howe. The portrait is bordered by red and blue stripes at the top of which is the illustration of an eagle with a patriotic shield. Below the portrait, flanked by the images of Navy Cross medals, is the print’s title and information on Miller: DORIE MILLER / HERO OF PEARL HARBOR / "Awarded the Navy Cross for conspicuous bravery under fire."

On the reverse side, written in pencil along the top, is the notation: O.F. 116F By Timely Prints, July 4, 1942.
Historical NoteAt the start of World War II, the U.S. Navy restricted Black sailors to its “messman” branch. But the extraordinary heroism of Messman Doris “Dorie” Miller, who manned an anti-aircraft gun during Japan’s December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, helped initiate change. Publicity by the NAACP and the Black press about Miller’s exploits helped convince FDR to award him the Navy Cross—the first ever given to a Black sailor. In April 1942, the Navy announced that Black recruits would be trained in a range of specialties beyond messmen—including combat positions.

Miller became an iconic emblem of the fight for Black civil rights and his likeness was reproduced on buttons, wartime commemorative items, and prints like this one. In November 1943, he was killed in action while serving aboard the escort carrier Liscome Bay when it was sunk by a Japanese submarine.

The print is currently on display in the FDR Library's special exhibition, BLACK AMERICANS, CIVIL RIGHTS, AND THE ROOSEVELTS, 1932-1962.
Additional Details
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesUnited States Navy Materials (National Archives Identifier 782673)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
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On view