Everyday Patriot

Admiral Gravely had an impressive Naval career of firsts. Born on June 4, 1922, in Richmond, Virginia, he attended Virginia Union University, leaving early to join the Naval reserves in 1942. After basic training at the Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, he entered V-12 Navy College Training at UCLA and then attended Midshipmen's school at Columbia University. He was commissioned as Ensign in 1944. His time during World War II was spent aboard the USS PC-1264, conducting patrols and escorts through the Atlantic. In 1946, released from active duty, he returned to Virginia Union University, completed his Bachelor's in History, and worked as a railway postal clerk. He returned to active duty in 1949 as a recruiter in Washington, DC, transferring to the USS Iowa as a communications officer. He converted from the reserves to the regular Navy in 1955. In 1961, he was given his own boat, the USS Theodore E. Chandler, becoming the first African American to command a sh...

Ship's Cook 3rd Class Doris Miller was born in Waco, Texas, on October 12, 1919. He attended A.J. Moore High School and played fullback on the football team until leaving school to help support his family, both by farming and working part-time at a local diner. Ship's Cook Third Class Doris Millier enlisted in the US Navy on September 16, 1939, prior to the start of World War II, and was transferred to the USS West Virginia on January 2, 1940, serving as Mess Attendant. He was also the heavyweight boxing champion of the ship. On December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, he manned a Browning 50 caliber anti-aircraft gun in defense of the USS West Virginia and fought off enemy planes, despite having received no weapons training (the US Navy did not allow African Americans in combat roles at that time) After running out of ammunition and with orders to abandon the ship, Ship's Cook Third Class Doris Miller assisted in moving injured sailors off the boat,...