This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/17/2022
MARTIN, David Stone (1913-1992). Above and Beyond the Call of Duty. 1943. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.]. 26 ¾ x 18 ¾”. Margins trimmed; original folds; dry-mounted to poster board. Doris “Dorie” Miller (1919-1943) became the first Black American to receive the Navy Cross for his bravery at Pearl Harbor in 1942. In the American military’s discriminatory and segregated structure, he enlisted as a mess attendant and cook, serving aboard the USS West Virginia. The former high school fullback was also the vessel’s boxing champion. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, Miller carried wounded sailors to safety before taking control of an antiaircraft gun. With no training, he skillfully operated the gun until it ran out of ammunition. Miller and over 600 others were killed in action during the Battle of Makin in 1943 when a Japanese torpedo sank the USS Liscome Bay.