H.R. 10817: U.S.S. Doris Miller Act of 2026

This bill would express Congress’s view that the Secretary of the Navy should name a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Doris Miller in honor of Mess Attendant Third Class Doris “Dorie” Miller.

What the bill does

The bill does not directly order the Navy to rename a ship or create a new program. Instead, it states the sense of Congress, meaning Congress is formally signaling its opinion that the Navy should use the name Doris Miller for a future aircraft carrier.

The bill also ties this recommendation to the Navy’s 2020 announcement that it would name a future Ford-class aircraft carrier after Doris Miller.

Who Doris Miller was

The bill explains why Congress wants the ship named after him. It says Doris Miller:

• Was born in Waco, Texas, to sharecropper parents.
• Enlisted in the Navy in 1939, at a time when Black sailors were limited to a small number of roles.
• Was aboard the U.S.S. West Virginia during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
• Helped move his wounded captain to safety.
• Then manned an anti-aircraft gun without formal training and fired on attacking Japanese planes until he ran out of ammunition.
• Helped evacuate sailors after the order to abandon ship and was among the last men to leave before the ship sank.
• Received the Navy Cross in 1942, becoming the first Black sailor to receive that honor.
• Was later used in Navy recruitment efforts and war bond tours, then returned to active service and was killed in action in 1943 when his carrier was torpedoed.

Practical effect

If enacted, the main effect would be political and symbolic: it would put Congress on record supporting the naming of a Navy aircraft carrier after Doris Miller. The bill itself does not appear to authorize funding, change military operations, or impose new requirements beyond this expression of congressional sentiment.

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