Veterans Day: Honoring our shining lights
Published November 11, 2016
Editorial by Winston-Salem Journal, November 11, 2016.
This is an updated version of an editorial we first published on Veterans Day 2010.
The well-known story of Doris “Dorie” Miller, a Texan awarded the Navy Cross for bravery for his actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor, reminds us why we honor all veterans, living and dead, on Veterans Day — those who served in war and those who put on the uniform during peacetime.
Miller represents the potential danger that any member of the armed forces, combat-trained soldiers as well as support troops, can face at any time. As a cook 3rd class on the USS West Virginia, Miller responded to the call to man his battle station at an ammo battery on the ship that fateful morning of Dec. 7, 1941. When he found the battery destroyed, he was assigned to load a pair of unmanned Browning .50-caliber anti-aircraft guns. With no training, he mounted one of the guns and began firing at the invading Japanese aircraft. He fired until his ammunition ran out, then abandoned ship as the West Virginia, hit broadside by a torpedo, was going down.
After Pearl Harbor, Miller returned to being a ship’s cook. He died the following November when the USS Liscome Bay was sunk in the Pacific in the Battle of Tarawa.
We rightly honor our brave combat troops, especially those who make the ultimate sacrifice, but today we pay tribute as well to the Dorie Millers of the armed services, past and present — the cooks, mechanics, pencil pushers and skivvy stackers, the typewriter jockeys, the intelligence analysts, the nurses and technicians — all those who provide invaluable support to front-line troops. In swearing to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, they know that one day their moment may come.
On this Veterans Day, we are fortunate to have millions of veterans living amongst us, from the last warriors of World War II to the veterans of the war against terror that continues to this day in new and frightening ways. Whatever happens, these vets will always be there for us. They include dedicated men and women from all the broad and beautiful stripes of race and ethnicity that have long defined this country. They represent the best of working diversity. Many of them, home from afar, are giving back to their communities, setting an example for us all.
