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War hero's family 'A shock' to hear ship may be renamed for Trump · DEEP INSIGHT

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  Speaker 1: CNN has exclusive new reporting and tauruses tell us the
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Navy is considering a new name for an aircraft carrier
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: that it's building, potentially President Trump's name. But wait, because
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  Speaker 1: there's more. Because that carrier already had a name. It
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  Speaker 1: was slated to honor this man, Doris Dorry Miller, a
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  Speaker 1: black sailor who fearlessly jumped into action during Japan's attack
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  Speaker 1: on Pearl Harbor. I'm talking about a war hero. Miller
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  Speaker 1: was a mess attendant, third class in rank. It was
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  Speaker 1: one of the only jobs in the Navy that was
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  Speaker 1: open to black men. The day of the attack, December seventh,
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  Speaker 1: nineteen forty one, a day that will live in infamy.
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  Speaker 1: He had just finished serving breakfast and was gathering laundry
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  Speaker 1: when the explosions started. Well Miller aided his wounding commanding officer.
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  Speaker 1: He took control of an anti aircraft gun without any training.
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  Speaker 1: His story was so powered powerful that Hollywood put it
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  Speaker 1: on the big screen in the movie Pearl Harbor. I'm
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  Speaker 1: joined now by Doris Miller's great nephew, Thomas Bledsoe.
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  Speaker 2: Thomas, thank you so much for being here.
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  Speaker 1: I know you and the rest of the family were
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  Speaker 1: not notified about this. So tell me how did you
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  Speaker 1: react when you first heard that the future USS Doris
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  Speaker 1: Miller might be renamed and potentially after President Trump.
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  Speaker 3: So for our family, it was quite a shock to
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  Speaker 3: hear that there is worth conversation about the possibility of
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  Speaker 3: renaming the Dorris Miller carrier. And so not only was
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  Speaker 3: it a shot, but it was also a shock that
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  Speaker 3: we found out from a news outlet and probably from
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  Speaker 3: the Navy, and so it caused a lot of concerns
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  Speaker 3: and uncertainty. And so for us it immediately became a
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  Speaker 3: family group conversation about what is happening, what does it mean?
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  Speaker 3: Because you know, in January twenty twenty was a big
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  Speaker 3: day for us when we went to the naming ceremony
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  Speaker 3: and got the opportunity to see what was happening and
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  Speaker 3: then to see Dors Miller get recognition in such a
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  Speaker 3: great way as we continue to fight for him to
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  Speaker 3: get recognition for the Congressional Medal of Honor as well.
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  Speaker 2: This wasn't just any ship naming as you've talked about.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, it was set to be the first aircraft
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  Speaker 1: carrier name for a black American and an enlisted sailor
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  Speaker 1: so what would be lost if his name is taken
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  Speaker 1: off this carrier.
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  Speaker 4: So it has a great significance for that.
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  Speaker 3: One of the things about Dors Miller's story is not
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  Speaker 3: only about him being a hero that he was on
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  Speaker 3: that day at Pearl Harbor, but it was also about
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  Speaker 3: the individual stepping beyond the means of what they were
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  Speaker 3: assigned to do and gone above and beyond, and that
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  Speaker 3: why not me moment was very significant not only for
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  Speaker 3: the African American community, but for Americans overall. It's a
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  Speaker 3: testament to how society can put you in boxes, but
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  Speaker 3: then being able to step outside that and have great moments.
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  Speaker 3: It's such significance and even more so when I got
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  Speaker 3: an opportunity to hear my great grandfather Connery talk about
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  Speaker 3: his son, it wasn't just that Doors was a hero.
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  Speaker 4: It was that he was a son to someone and
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  Speaker 4: brother to someone.
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  Speaker 3: And the significance of what African Americans were going through
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  Speaker 3: at that time really played out their history and really
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  Speaker 3: showed one of the first steps and to civil rights,
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  Speaker 3: one of the first steps into African Americans being seen
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  Speaker 3: outside of what society had placed on them. And so
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  Speaker 3: this isn't just about a name on a ship. It's
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  Speaker 3: about an opportunity and a goal. It's about a significance
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  Speaker 3: and what it means to be an American. And it's
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  Speaker 3: also about how we as a community can grow as
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  Speaker 3: one and become one towards one goal is a nation.
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  Speaker 3: It's so important.
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  Speaker 2: The phrase why not me?
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  Speaker 1: Resonates so deeply for so many people, and to hear
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  Speaker 1: his story and the impact on our entire country and
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  Speaker 1: dare I say the world, Thomas, we are hearing the
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  Speaker 1: Navy is also considering naming another warship for your great
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  Speaker 1: uncle and recommending him for the Medal of Honor. Some
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  Speaker 1: of your family, as you have said, has fought for
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  Speaker 1: four years. Would that somehow compensate if his name is
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  Speaker 1: truly taken off this aircraft carrier or is this not
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  Speaker 1: the either.
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  Speaker 3: Or you know one. It is an honor for him
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  Speaker 3: to be continually be spoken of in consideration for Angreshia
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  Speaker 3: Medal of Honor. That is something that my great grandmother Henrietta,
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  Speaker 3: constantly worked for and it's been passed on generations to
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  Speaker 3: make sure we can see that one day come true.
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  Speaker 3: But even if they take his name and rename another ship,
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  Speaker 3: it is also about timing so we're looking at my mother,
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  Speaker 3: my uncle's which is our Dors's nieces and nephews that
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  Speaker 3: are in their seventies and them being able to have
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  Speaker 3: the opportunity to see this go to fruition.
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  Speaker 4: Is so important. So naming another ship, although it's a
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  Speaker 4: great honor, we're talking about timing of another generation that
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  Speaker 4: may miss the opportunity to see something go to the
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  Speaker 4: final end.
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  Speaker 1: If the President Secretary Hegseth, or the Navy secretary we're
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  Speaker 1: watching right now, what would you tell them?
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  Speaker 3: What I would say is Doris Miller stands for so
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  Speaker 3: much about America and who we are today. And as
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  Speaker 3: they're contemplating or maybe contemplating that changing the name, to
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  Speaker 3: take a moment and realize the significance of what the
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  Speaker 3: name is and the significance of what it truly inspires
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  Speaker 3: and impacts this nation.
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  Speaker 4: Today and in importance of timing.
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  Speaker 3: And so, although I understand that these decisions are made
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  Speaker 3: well above in many different levels, I would really want
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  Speaker 3: someone to take the time to realize the true impact
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  Speaker 3: of changing the name and what it would do to
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  Speaker 3: society and also young girls and young boys that look
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  Speaker 3: up to Doris Miller. In his story and who they
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  Speaker 3: want to aspire to be one day and go on
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  Speaker 3: above and beyond.
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  Speaker 1: Doris Miller, so significant, Thomas bledsoe, thank you.
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  Speaker 4: So much, thank you.
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  Speaker 2: So powerful. Joining me now.
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  Speaker 1: Retired Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Malcolm Nance is also
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  Speaker 1: a New York Times best selling author and host of
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  Speaker 1: the Black Man Spy podcast on subsac.
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  Speaker 2: Good to see you again. It's a long time, Malcolm, Chief.
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  Speaker 1: You served in the Navy for twenty years, and I
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  Speaker 1: understand that Miller's story in particular has meant so much
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  Speaker 1: to your family. How do you feel hearing they may
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  Speaker 1: scrap the plan for now?
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  Speaker 5: You know, my father, who served in the Navy in
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  Speaker 5: World War Two, was fifteen when he ran away from
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  Speaker 5: home in Georgia and joined the Navy. He lied about
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  Speaker 5: his age, and that was in nineteen forty four. Dory
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  Speaker 5: Miller was already an icon in that community. He inspired
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  Speaker 5: thousands upon thousands of young men to see what the
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  Speaker 5: ultimate sacrifice where America was. And it wasn't just what
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  Speaker 5: happened to him on December seventh, nineteen forty one. It
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  Speaker 5: was December seventh, nineteen forty three, when he lost his
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  Speaker 5: life on the USS Liscom Bay after a Japanese torpedoing
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  Speaker 5: what Dory Miller represents here. And I'm speaking as a chief, okay,
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  Speaker 5: And my job as a chief is to one maintain
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  Speaker 5: the dignity and the honor of the deck plate sailors
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  Speaker 5: and to help recalibrate the officers above me. And when
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  Speaker 5: I say this, this honor was not just because he
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  Speaker 5: was an enlisted man or a black man who won
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  Speaker 5: the Navy Cross. It was the honor of the six
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  Speaker 5: hundred and forty three other men who died with him
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  Speaker 5: that day World War Two, when my dad was out
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  Speaker 5: there serving in the Pacific, men were dying by the hundreds.
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  Speaker 5: This was the first capital warship named for an enlisted man,
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  Speaker 5: named for a person who won the Navy Cross. And
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  Speaker 5: the Navy Cross automatic gets you a medal of honor review,
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  Speaker 5: which was not granted to him, but it was symbolizes
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  Speaker 5: the moment of every one of our Navy sailors, men
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  Speaker 5: and women, for that one moment that encapsulates honor, courage, commitment.
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  Speaker 1: And yet we are hearing from sources saying that there
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  Speaker 1: were internal conversations about renaming the ship not after one
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  Speaker 1: of the other men on that same ship, but after
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  Speaker 1: President Trump. Now, it would be unprecedented to name an
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  Speaker 1: aircraft carrier after a sitting president.
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  Speaker 2: So why even consider.
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  Speaker 1: This and what is your reaction to that consideration.
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  Speaker 5: You know navy carriers and other capital warships, Yeah, they've
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  Speaker 5: been named after people. You know, presidents who has generally
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  Speaker 5: served in the armed forces. John F. Kennedy to name one, right,
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  Speaker 5: who's a pet boat commander in the Pacific.
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  Speaker 6: But this is about taking something a tradition the Navy
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  Speaker 6: took decades to do, and to strip it away, to
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  Speaker 6: take our own honor away from the sailors who were
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  Speaker 6: preparing to build this vessel up from the keel up
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  Speaker 6: and turn it into a symbol not just of American power,
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  Speaker 6: of America's strength in every.
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  Speaker 5: Person who gave their life there. He would be disgracing
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  Speaker 5: every man woman who died in naval service. And let
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  Speaker 5: me say something. I have one thing I would like
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  Speaker 5: to say. I'm speaking to the Chief of Naval Operations,
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  Speaker 5: the Secretary of the Navy, and especially you, Master Chief Petty,
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  Speaker 5: also the Navy. There are times in your career where
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  Speaker 5: you have to drop your anchors. This is one of
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  Speaker 5: those times. Stand up for our honor, meet your commitment,
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  Speaker 5: and have the courage to say this vessel needs to
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  Speaker 5: maintain its tradition. We've never done this before, to strip
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  Speaker 5: that away from the enlisted men and women and the
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  Speaker 5: honor of the diversity that is our strength. And the
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  Speaker 5: President should be man enough to understand that this isn't
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  Speaker 5: about him. This is about those other men and women
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  Speaker 5: who died on the list com Bay that day, two
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  Speaker 5: years after Pearl Harbor. Doryan Miller just represents them all.