H.C.R. No. 45

	HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, During the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7,
	1941, Petty Officer Doris Miller of the U.S. Navy demonstrated
	valor above and beyond the call of duty, and he is long past due for
	full recognition of his extraordinary courage and initiative on
	that day; and
	WHEREAS, A native of Texas, Doris "Dorie" Miller was born in
	Waco on October 12, 1919, to Henrietta and Conery Miller; he was a
	fullback on the football team at Moore High School in Waco, and he
	went on to work on his father's farm; and
	WHEREAS, In September 1939, Mr. Miller enlisted in the U.S.
	Navy as a way to see the world and earn money for his family; at that
	time, African Americans were only permitted to perform menial tasks
	in the Navy, so Mr. Miller was trained as a mess attendant at the
	Naval Training Station in Norfolk, Virginia; after a brief
	assignment on the ammunition ship USS Pyro, he was transferred in
	January 1940 to the battleship USS West Virginia, where he won
	distinction among the crew as the ship's heavyweight boxing
	champion; his rank at the time was mess attendant, second class; and
	WHEREAS, Mr. Miller rose at 6 a.m. on the morning of December
	7, 1941, and he was collecting laundry when the Japanese attack
	began and the alarm for general quarters was sounded; even mess
	attendants had a battle station, but Mr. Miller's, an antiaircraft
	battery magazine, had already been destroyed by a torpedo, so he
	went up on deck where, as the ship began to sink, he hauled wounded
	shipmates through oil and water to safety on the quarterdeck; he was
	then ordered to the bridge, where he picked up the ship's mortally
	wounded captain and carried him to an aid station; and
	WHEREAS, Mr. Miller then returned to the bridge, and on his
	own initiative, he began firing a .50-caliber Browning antiaircraft
	machine gun at the attacking Japanese planes; he had never trained
	on the weapon, but, as he reported later, "It wasn't hard, I just
	pulled the trigger and she worked fine"; with no concern for his own
	safety, he continued firing until the gun's ammunition ran out,
	possibly bringing down one of the enemy aircraft; in the meantime,
	the West Virginia had been hit by five enemy torpedoes, and
	Mr. Miller was finally forced to abandon ship with his surviving
	crewmates; and
	WHEREAS, In the aftermath of the attack, Mr. Miller was
	commended by Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, and on May 27, 1942,
	he became the first African American to receive the Navy Cross, the
	service's second-highest honor, which was personally presented to
	him by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the commander of the Pacific
	Fleet; he went on to serve on the USS Indianapolis and then the USS
	Liscome Bay; that ship was sunk by a Japanese submarine on November
	24, 1943, and though his body was never recovered, Mr. Miller was
	eventually listed among the 646 sailors who died that day; at the
	time of his death, his rank was cook, third class; and
	WHEREAS, In the years since, Mr. Miller's actions have become
	an important part of the legacy of Pearl Harbor; during the war, a
	poster from the U.S. Office of War Information featured his image
	and urged African Americans to join the war effort, and in 1973, a
	Knox-class frigate was christened the USS Miller in his honor; in
	1991, Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority dedicated a bronze plaque to him at
	the U.S. Naval Base in Pearl Harbor, and in 2001, he was portrayed
	by the actor Cuba Gooding Jr. in the blockbuster film, Pearl Harbor;
	more recently, his story has been featured prominently in the
	National Museum of African American History and Culture in
	Washington, D.C.; in addition to the Navy Cross, he was also
	entitled to the Purple Heart, the American Defense Service Medal,
	Fleet Clasp, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War
	II Victory Medal; and
	WHEREAS, In 1939, when the clouds of world war were gathering
	in Europe and Asia, Dorie Miller chose to enlist in a Navy that did
	not trust black men to serve in combat, and at a moment of direst
	need, he picked up a weapon he had never used before and fought back
	against a savage enemy, performing brilliantly and courageously
	under fire in defense of his ship, his crewmates, and his nation;
	his valiant service on that day, and afterwards, warrants the
	highest honor that can be bestowed upon a member of the armed forces
	of the United States; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas
	hereby urge the United States Congress to bestow on Doris "Dorie"
	Miller the Congressional Medal of Honor; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward official copies
	of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the
	secretary of the Navy, to the speaker of the House of
	Representatives and the president of the Senate of the United
	States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to
	Congress with the request that this resolution be officially
	entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of
	the United States of America.
	White
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.C.R. No. 45 was adopted by the House on April
	27, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 145, Nays 0, 2 present, not
	voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.C.R. No. 45 was adopted by the Senate on May
	19, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor