The government poster departments of the Second World War rarely painted real people. They painted types: the welder, the soldier, the mother at home. This poster is different. It is a portrait of one named sailor, a mess attendant from Waco, Texas, and it tells you exactly what he did and when he was decorated for it: Dorie Miller received the Navy Cross at Pearl Harbor, May 27, 1942.
Seven December, aboard West Virginia
Doris Miller was born in Waco on 12 October 1919, the son of sharecroppers. He enlisted in the Navy in 1939, and like almost every Black sailor of the time he was allowed to serve only in the messman branch, cooking, serving and cleaning for officers. On the morning of 7 December 1941 he was aboard the battleship USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attack began.
Torpedoes tore into the ship’s port side. Miller carried wounded men to safety, among them the mortally wounded captain, Mervyn Bennion. Then he took over an unmanned .50 calibre anti-aircraft machine gun, a weapon he had never been trained to fire, and kept firing until he ran out of ammunition and was ordered to abandon the sinking ship.
A medal that had to be fought for
At first the Navy did not name him. Early reports spoke only of an unidentified Black messman. The Black press, led by the Pittsburgh Courier, pressed for his name and for proper recognition, and members of Congress took up the case. On 27 May 1942, aboard the carrier USS Enterprise at Pearl Harbor, Admiral Chester Nimitz pinned the Navy Cross on Miller’s chest. He was the first Black American to receive it, and Nimitz said at the time that the honour would not be the last.
The poster
In 1943 the Office of War Information issued Miller’s portrait as OWI Poster No. 68, printed by the Government Printing Office. The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery notes that it was made to raise morale and participation among Black Americans, and that Boy Scouts helped put copies up in shops and public places. The phrase across the top, “above and beyond the call of duty”, is the language of gallantry citations; the Navy Cross hangs from Miller’s jumper in the lower right.
The artist, David Stone Martin, worked as an art director at the OWI. He painted Miller head-on and close up, in a scratchy, drawn line that lets the white of the cap and jumper glow against a cold blue sky, while the battleships burn small and far away behind him. After the war Martin became one of the best-known record-cover artists in America, drawing hundreds of jazz covers for the producer Norman Granz.
Liscome Bay and after
Miller was not allowed to stay a hero at home. He was sent back to sea, promoted to Cook Third Class, and assigned to the new escort carrier Liscome Bay. On 24 November 1943, off Makin in the Gilbert Islands, a Japanese submarine torpedoed her and her bomb magazine exploded. She sank in minutes with 644 of her crew. Miller was among them. He was 24. In 2020 the Navy announced that a future Ford-class aircraft carrier, CVN-81, will be named USS Doris Miller, the first carrier named for an enlisted sailor.
The restored edition
Our edition was restored from a photograph of an original 1943 print. The fold lines, creases, stains and wear were removed, and the blue sky, white uniform and skin tones brought back, while the lettering and the artist’s signature are kept from the original. You can compare the archival source with the restored edition in the before and after slider on the product page. It is available as a paper print in three sizes or framed in black, white or natural wood, printed to order in the USA.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the sailor on the poster?
Doris “Dorie” Miller (1919–1943), a Navy mess attendant from Waco, Texas, who manned an anti-aircraft machine gun aboard USS West Virginia during the attack on Pearl Harbor and became the first Black American to receive the Navy Cross.
Who painted it?
David Stone Martin (1913–1992), an art director at the Office of War Information who later became famous for his jazz record covers. It was issued in 1943 as OWI Poster No. 68.
Is the date on the poster right?
Yes. Admiral Chester Nimitz presented the Navy Cross to Miller on 27 May 1942 in a ceremony aboard the carrier USS Enterprise at Pearl Harbor, which is the date the caption gives.
What happened to Dorie Miller?
He was killed on 24 November 1943 when the escort carrier Liscome Bay was torpedoed off the Gilbert Islands. In 2020 the Navy announced that a future aircraft carrier, CVN-81, would be named USS Doris Miller.
What sizes are the prints?
Paper prints are 11.7 × 16.5, 20 × 28 or 23.4 × 33.1 inches; framed prints are 12 × 17, 20 × 28 or 23 × 33 inches, in black, white or natural wood.
Historical sources
- Library of Congress: Above and beyond the call of duty, Dorie Miller received the Navy Cross at Pearl Harbor, May 27, 1942 (OWI Poster No. 68)
- Library of Congress: Admiral Nimitz pins the Navy Cross on Doris Miller, 27 May 1942
- Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery: Dorie Miller (1919–1943)
- KC Studio: David Stone Martin, Jazz Visualized