have been courageous action under any circumstances, but it was made even more so by the fact that doory miller didn't have gunnery training. black sailors were restricted to behind the scene roles like messmen, cooks and stewards. miller was a cook. he had been below deck gathering laundry. in seeing what needed to be done and doing it, despite lack of training, he went very much above and beyond the call of duty. and in may of 1942, dorie miller became the first african-american in u.s. history to receive the navy cross, the navy's second highest award for courage under fire. the navy sent him on a war bonds tour and used his face like in this poster to drum up recruitment among african-americans through promising opportunities to rise above and beyond like dorie miller had done and to be recognized and honored for their services to their country, but when dorie miller's ship went down in the south pacific in 1943, the u.s. navy was a ridgedly segregated organization. miller himself, despite his actions at pearl harbor, had been promoted no further than ship's cook third class. there w