What is the name of this African American Messman Third Class of the United States Navy who was awarded great honors for his bravery during the attack on Pearl Harbor and for whom a park is dedicated in his honor close to the Waco Suspension Bridge?
Doris Miller Doris "Dorie" Miller (October 12, 1919November 24, 1943) was a Messman Third Class that the United States Navy noted for his bravery during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross, the third highest honor awarded by the US Navy at the time, after the Medal of Honor and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. The Navy Cross now precedes the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. Miller's acts were heavily publicized in the black press, making him an iconic emblem of the war for black Americans. Nearly two years after Pearl Harbor, he was killed in action when "Liscome Bay" was sunk by a Japanese submarine during the Battle of Makin.
USS Neuendorf (DE-200) USS "Neuendorf" (DE-200), a "Buckley"-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy, was named in honor of Seaman First Class William Frederick Neuendorf (1916–1941), who was killed in action aboard the USS Nevada, as gun captain of No. 6 A.A. gun, gave an example of leadership, skill, and bravery that is remarked upon by all who observed it during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. He was commended posthumously "for distinguished devotion to duty and extraordinary courage and disregard for his own safety[,]" and was the most junior sailor mentioned specifically for distinguished conduct in the after action report of the USS Nevada regarding the attack on Pearl Harbor.