If you ever visit Pearl Harbor as I have you learn the story of Dorie Miller. When his ship was attacked he was sent to rescue the captain and then climbed up the tower and without any training opened up on the Japanese Zero's with a 50 caliber machine gun.
There weren't a lot of heroes that day. My opinion is if he was white he'd have been on bond drives for the rest of the war. Instead he went back down to the kitchen on another ship that ended up getting sunk two years later.
It took sixty years for a TV movie to be made about him and another twenty before he received the honor he was due. A pretty long time for the Navy to finally get it right.
There weren't a lot of heroes that day. My opinion is if he was white he'd have been on bond drives for the rest of the war. Instead he went back down to the kitchen on another ship that ended up getting sunk two years later.
It took sixty years for a TV movie to be made about him and another twenty before he received the honor he was due. A pretty long time for the Navy to finally get it right.