Overview

• President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the Navy on June 27, 2025, to redesignate USNS Harvey Milk as USNS Oscar V. Peterson.
• The administration describes the renaming as part of an effort to roll back diversity-focused honors and reinforce a traditional warrior culture.
• Oscar V. Peterson was a World War II naval officer who stabilized his ship after a Japanese attack, saving 123 crew members and earning a posthumous medal.
• Harvey Milk served as a Navy dive officer during the Korean War, faced a 1950s dishonorable discharge for his sexuality and later became the first openly gay elected official in San Francisco.
• The Navy has launched a fleetwide review of other vessels named for civil rights figures under its broader diversity rollback initiative.