Dorie Miller Poster-John Murphy

Here, Dorie Miller is shown sanding in front of the ruins of Pearl Harbor with a Navy Cross on his shirt. This poster, by David Stone Martin, is based off a photograph of him. Dorie Miller was a cook on the USS West Virginia. In the attack on Pearl Harbor he dragged his captain to safety and manned a 50mm bridge gun, though he had no training with it, and shot down at least one Japanese plane according to his account. He was awarded a Navy Cross six months later. He was previously only given a letter of commendation, but after public outcry in the African-American community he became the first African-American to receive the Navy Cross. After this poster released African American enlistment soared. He died around the time this poster came out, when The Liscome Bay, was torpedoed.