Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday that the USNS Harvey Milk will have a new namesake: Navy Chief Watertender Oscar Verner Peterson, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II.
Milk was a Navy veteran who went to lead early gay civil rights efforts before he was assassinated in 1978. A defense official told Task & Purpose earlier this month that Hegseth planned to change the name of the ship, a replenishment oiler. The official also said the name change was specifically timed to be announced during June, when Milk’s legacy is often celebrated in the LGBTQ+ community as part of ‘Pride Month.’
“We are taking the politics out of ship naming,” Hegseth said in a video posted on X on Friday. “We’re not renaming the ship to anything political. This is not about political activists, unlike the previous administration. Instead, we’re renaming the ship after a United States Navy Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, as it should be. People want to be proud of the ship they’re sailing in.”
The Medal of Honor was awarded to Peterson for his actions on May 7, 1942, when he led a damage control party on the fleet oiler USS Neosho at the Battle of the Coral Sea as the ship was being attacked by Japanese planes.
Minority Veterans of America Executive Director Lindsay Church said the original decision to name the ship after Milk was apolitical, noting that construction on the vessel began in 2019 under President Donald Trump’s first term. Church also said that the name change is “intended to obscure the full history of the military and veteran community.
“Harvey Milk was a proud Navy veteran who served this country with honor and integrity, a trailblazing public servant and civil rights leader,” Church said in a statement.“To strip his name from a naval ship simply because he was gay is both cowardly and despicable. It sends a dangerous message to every LGBTQ+ service member and veteran that their sacrifice is second-class.”
According to Peterson’s Medal of Honor citation, Peterson ignored grievous wounds as he performed damage control on the Neosho after it was attacked by Japanese planes. “Lacking assistance because of injuries to the other members of his repair party and severely wounded himself, Peterson, with no concern for his own life, closed the bulkhead stop valves and in so doing received additional burns which resulted in his death,” according to the citation. “His spirit of self-sacrifice and loyalty, characteristic of a fine seaman, was in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.”
The USNS Oscar V. Peterson is the second ship named for the Medal of Honor recipient. The USS Peterson, an Edsall-class destroyer escort, was launched in 1943 and decommissioned in 1965.
Modern Military Association of America, an advocacy group for gay, lesbian, and transgender troops and veterans, provided Task & Purpose with a statement following Hegseth’s announcement on Friday.
“Navy Chief Watertender Oscar Verner Peterson’s heroic actions in WWII should indeed be honored – but not at the expense of erasing Harvey Milk,” the statement says. “Each of these men made great sacrifices for our country and the uplifting of one should not erase the accomplishments of another. Politicizing these individuals’ legacies sends a clear and unwelcoming message to the military community that some individuals are more worthy of recognition than others based on their identity.”
CORRECTION: 06/27/2024: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed a statement from the Modern Military Association of America to Lindsay Church, executive director of Minority Veterans of America.
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