1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

Block any effort to rename CVN-81 away from the USS Doris Miller. Doris Miller — a Black mess attendant from Waco, Texas who had no training on anti-aircraft weapons — grabbed a gun during the attack on Pearl Harbor and kept firing until he ran out of ammunition. Admiral Chester Nimitz personally pinned the Navy Cross on him. He earned this honor. The ship's name should reflect that. Naming an aircraft carrier after a sitting president would be unprecedented. Every carrier named after a president — Lincoln, Reagan, the Bushes, Washington — was named after someone already in the history books, not someone currently in office. This isn't tradition; it's vanity. The Navy itself announced the USS Doris Miller name at a Pearl Harbor ceremony in January 2020. Miller's family has fought for years to see his legacy recognized. Stripping his name from the Navy's most powerful class of warship — right before the keel-laying ceremony — would be a disgrace to his service and to every sailor who came after him. The keel-laying ceremony is expected before the end of this year. There is still time to stop this. Make clear that CVN-81 is the USS Doris Miller, and that no sitting president's name belongs on a warship.