H.R. No. 106
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, World War II hero Doris "Dorie" Miller exhibited
extraordinary courage on the USS West Virginia during the December
7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, and his bravery has not received
the full honors and recognition that it merits; and
WHEREAS, A native Texan, Dorie Miller was born in Waco on
October 12, 1919, and enlisted in the United States Navy on
September 16, 1939; and
WHEREAS, In the opening hours of America's entry into the
war, the 22-year-old assisted fellow sailors and his wounded
captain out of the line of fire to shelter; he then manned a machine
gun on which he had not been trained, seizing both the initiative
and the offense at a moment of critical national peril, and fired at
the Japanese planes until the crew was ordered to abandon the ship;
and
WHEREAS, For heroism on the USS West Virginia, Admiral
Chester Nimitz bestowed upon Dorie Miller the Navy Cross, the
United States Navy's highest honor, during a ceremony on the flight
deck of the USS Enterprise at Pearl Harbor on May 27, 1942; Dorie
Miller was the first African American to receive that award; and
WHEREAS, Dorie Miller was serving on the USS Liscome Bay, an
escort carrier, on November 24, 1943, when his ship was sunk by a
Japanese submarine in an attack which cost the lives of 646 men;
Dorie Miller was officially presumed dead a year and a day after the
carrier went down; and
WHEREAS, Besides the Navy Cross, he was 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 in 1973, the United States further recognized his military
contributions by naming a frigate, the USS Miller, after him; and
WHEREAS, His actions on the USS West Virginia and his valiant
service to his country during World War II warrant the highest honor
that a member of the United States Armed Forces can receive, the
Congressional Medal of Honor, and justify also a special philatelic
commemoration that will endear this man of courage and selflessness
to his fellow citizens and confer their utmost respect and
gratitude; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas
Legislature hereby respectfully request the Congress of the United
States of America to posthumously bestow upon Doris "Dorie" Miller
the Congressional Medal of Honor; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas
Legislature hereby respectfully request the U.S. Postal Service and
the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to issue a commemorative
postage stamp honoring Doris "Dorie" Miller as part of their Black
Heritage series and that the Texas delegation to the congress--as
well as the Congressional Black Caucus--be hereby reverentially
asked to join the effort to attain issuance of such a postage stamp;
and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the chief clerk of the Texas House of
Representatives forward official copies of this resolution to the
president of the United States, to the postmaster general, to the
speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the
senate of the United States Congress, to all the members of the
Texas delegation to the congress, and to all members of the
Congressional Black Caucus, with the added request that this
resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
Giddings
McClendon
Dukes
Anderson
Dunnam
Allen of Harris
Veasey
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 106 was adopted by the House on
February 10, 2005, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House