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.
James R. Garrison James R. Garrison (June 22, 1838 – April 19, 1908) was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay.