WACO, Texas — The city of Waco is honoring one of their own heroes on the 77th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.
Doris Miller, a Waco native, was the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross for his actions on Pearl Harbor.
Miller was a cook on board the USS West Virginia who was collecting soiled laundry just before 8 a.m. when the first bombs hit his ship in Pearl Harbor.
Not only did Miller help his captain, who suffered a fatal wound, but then began firing on the attack planes with a deck gun.
Miller was awarded the Navy Cross in 1942.
Nearly two years after Pearl Harbor, when Miller was 24, he was killed in action when a ship he was on was sunk by a Japanese submarine.
The Doris Miller Memorial dedication takes place at the Bledsoe Miller Community Center Friday at noon.
On Thursday, the flag raising ceremony took place at the Doris Miller Memorial next to his 9-foot bronze sculpture in Waco.
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