119-hr2335

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2335 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 2335

To authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor to Doris Miller 
posthumously for acts of valor while a member of the Navy during World 
 War II.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 March 25, 2025

Mr. Mfume (for himself, Ms. Norton, Mr. Carson, Ms. Brown, Mr. Davis of 
 Illinois, Mr. Connolly, Ms. Crockett, Ms. Sewell, Ms. Clarke of New 
 York, Mr. Lynch, and Ms. Moore of Wisconsin) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor to Doris Miller 
posthumously for acts of valor while a member of the Navy during World 
 War II.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) Doris Miller, like other African-American sailors of 
 his day, was generally relegated to service-based roles on 
 ships, as the Navy did not allow sailors of color to enlist in 
 combat roles.

    (2) Doris Miller was acknowledged in the USS West Virginia 
 Action Report, individually, along with other brave personnel 
 for having ``carried out every order promptly and 
 enthusiastically, even when it meant danger to themselves. They 
 did not attempt to abandon the bridge until ordered to do so''.

    (3) Doris Miller aided other service members and ``was 
 instrumental in hauling people along through oil and water to 
 the quarterdeck, thereby unquestionably saving the lives of a 
 number of people who might otherwise have been lost''.

    (4) On December 15, 1941, the Navy released its 
 commendations for actions in Pearl Harbor which included one 
 ``unnamed Negro''. It wasn't until March of 1942, at the behest 
 of the NAACP, that the Navy formally recognized Miller's 
 heroism.

    (5) Doris Miller was recognized by the Navy and awarded the 
 Navy Cross Medal with the citation reading ``For distinguished 
 devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and disregard for his 
 own personal safety during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl 
 Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on December 7, 
 1941. While at the side of his Captain on the bridge, Miller, 
 despite enemy strafing and bombing and in the face of a serious 
 fire, assisted in moving his Captain, who had been mortally 
 wounded, to a place of greater safety, and later manned and 
 operated a machine gun directed at enemy Japanese attacking 
 aircraft until ordered to leave the bridge.''.

    (6) On May 27, 1942, Admiral Chester Nimitz personally 
 pinned the Navy Cross to Miller's left breast pocket while on 
 board the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.

    (7) Doris Miller died in action on November 24, 1943, on 
 board the USS Liscome Bay in the Pacific Ocean after a single 
 Japanese torpedo sank the vessel off the coast of Butaritari 
 Island.

    (8) Of the 15 sailors who were awarded the Medal of Honor 
 for similar actions taken during the attack on Pearl Harbor, 
 not one was African American.

    (9) Doris Miller deserves the highest honor the United 
 States can bestow upon a member of the Armed Forces.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR POSTHUMOUS AWARD OF MEDAL OF HONOR TO DORIS 
 MILLER FOR ACTS OF VALOR WHILE A MEMBER OF THE NAVY 
 DURING WORLD WAR II.

 Notwithstanding the time limitations specified in sections 8298

    (a) and 8300 of title 10, United States Code, or any other time limitation 
with respect to the awarding of certain medals to persons who served in 
the Armed Forces, the President is authorized to award the Medal of 
Honor posthumously, under 

section 8291 of such title, to Doris Miller 
for acts of valor during World War II while a member of the Navy, for 
which he was previously awarded the Navy Cross.
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