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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, During the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, |
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1941, Petty Officer Doris Miller of the U.S. Navy demonstrated |
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valor above and beyond the call of duty, and he is long past due for |
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full recognition of his extraordinary courage and initiative on |
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that day; and |
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WHEREAS, A native of Texas, Doris "Dorie" Miller was born in |
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Waco on October 12, 1919, to Henrietta and Conery Miller; he was a |
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fullback on the football team at Moore High School in Waco, and he |
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went on to work on his father's farm; and |
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WHEREAS, In September 1939, Mr. Miller enlisted in the U.S. |
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Navy as a way to see the world and earn money for his family; at that |
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time, African Americans were only permitted to perform menial tasks |
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in the Navy, so Mr. Miller was trained as a mess attendant at the |
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Naval Training Station in Norfolk, Virginia; after a brief |
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assignment on the ammunition ship USS Pyro, he was transferred in |
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January 1940 to the battleship USS West Virginia, where he won |
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distinction among the crew as the ship's heavyweight boxing |
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champion; his rank at the time was mess attendant, second class; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Miller rose at 6 a.m. on the morning of December |
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7, 1941, and he was collecting laundry when the Japanese attack |
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began and the alarm for general quarters was sounded; even mess |
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attendants had a battle station, but Mr. Miller's, an antiaircraft |
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battery magazine, had already been destroyed by a torpedo, so he |
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went up on deck where, as the ship began to sink, he hauled wounded |
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shipmates through oil and water to safety on the quarterdeck; he was |
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then ordered to the bridge, where he picked up the ship's mortally |
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wounded captain and carried him to an aid station; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Miller then returned to the bridge, and on his |
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own initiative, he began firing a .50-caliber Browning antiaircraft |
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machine gun at the attacking Japanese planes; he had never trained |
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on the weapon, but, as he reported later, "It wasn't hard, I just |
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pulled the trigger and she worked fine"; with no concern for his own |
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safety, he continued firing until the gun's ammunition ran out, |
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possibly bringing down one of the enemy aircraft; in the meantime, |
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the West Virginia had been hit by five enemy torpedoes, and |
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Mr. Miller was finally forced to abandon ship with his surviving |
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crewmates; and |
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WHEREAS, In the aftermath of the attack, Mr. Miller was |
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commended by Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, and on May 27, 1942, |
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he became the first African American to receive the Navy Cross, the |
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service's second-highest honor, which was personally presented to |
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him by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the commander of the Pacific |
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Fleet; he went on to serve on the USS Indianapolis and then the USS |
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Liscome Bay; that ship was sunk by a Japanese submarine on November |
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24, 1943, and though his body was never recovered, Mr. Miller was |
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eventually listed among the 646 sailors who died that day; at the |
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time of his death, his rank was cook, third class; and |
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WHEREAS, In the years since, Mr. Miller's actions have become |
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an important part of the legacy of Pearl Harbor; during the war, a |
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poster from the U.S. Office of War Information featured his image |
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and urged African Americans to join the war effort, and in 1973, a |
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Knox-class frigate was christened the USS Miller in his honor; in |
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1991, Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority dedicated a bronze plaque to him at |
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the U.S. Naval Base in Pearl Harbor, and in 2001, he was portrayed |
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by the actor Cuba Gooding Jr. in the blockbuster film, Pearl Harbor; |
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more recently, his story has been featured prominently in the |
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National Museum of African American History and Culture in |
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Washington, D.C.; in addition to the Navy Cross, he was also |
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entitled to the Purple Heart, the American Defense Service Medal, |
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Fleet Clasp, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War |
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II Victory Medal; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1939, when the clouds of world war were gathering |
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in Europe and Asia, Dorie Miller chose to enlist in a Navy that did |
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not trust black men to serve in combat, and at a moment of direst |
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need, he picked up a weapon he had never used before and fought back |
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against a savage enemy, performing brilliantly and courageously |
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under fire in defense of his ship, his crewmates, and his nation; |
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his valiant service on that day, and afterwards, warrants the |
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highest honor that can be bestowed upon a member of the armed forces |
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of the United States; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby urge the United States Congress to bestow on Doris "Dorie" |
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Miller the Congressional Medal of Honor; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward official copies |
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of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the |
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secretary of the Navy, to the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives and the president of the Senate of the United |
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States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to |
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Congress with the request that this resolution be officially |
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entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of |
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the United States of America. |
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