On Friday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon would rename a Navy ship from a gay icon to a World War II hero who sacrificed his life to keep his ship operational during a major battle.
“I’m pleased to officially announce that the Department of the Navy is renaming the replenishment oil formally known as the USNS Harvey Milk to the USNS Oscar V. Peterson,” Hegseth said. “We are taking the politics out of ship-naming; 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,” he continued. “We’re renaming it after a chief, a Navy chief, that during the battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, Chief Watertender Peterson led a repair party on the U.S.S. Neosho.”
“The ship was severely damaged by Japanese dive-bombers and the entire repair party was either killed or severely wounded. Peterson himself was gravely wounded, yet he managed to single-handedly close the bulkhead stop valves, thereby helping to keep the ship operational,” Hegseth added.
Peterson sustained third-degree burns to his face, shoulders, arms, and hands following his actions on May 7, 1942. He died six days later, on May 13, at the age of 42, and was buried at sea. He was survived by his wife and their two sons.
“In performing his historic actions and heroic actions, Peterson received additional injuries, and burns, which tragically resulted in his death, but his spirit of self-sacrifice and concern for his crewmates was in keeping with the finest traditions of the Navy. And for his heroic actions, Oscar Peterson was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. So I would like to officially welcome the USNS Oscar V. Peterson to the Navy’s Vessel Register,” Hegseth concluded.
