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3mo ago

USNS Harvey Milk Renamed to Honor WWII Hero Oscar V. Peterson

Hegseth said the renaming removes politics from ship naming, a move critics say erases an LGBTQ+ symbol

Image
FILE - Harvey Milk, a gay political leader in San Francisco, is seen pictured in his camera store on Castro Street, June 28, 1977, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/File)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth departs an event to promote President Donald Trump's domestic policy and budget agenda in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, June 26, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Overview

  • The fleet replenishment oiler formerly named for gay rights activist and Navy veteran Harvey Milk now carries the name of Chief Watertender Oscar V. Peterson
  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on June 27 that the change aims to depoliticize vessel naming in line with President Trump’s effort to restore traditional military culture
  • Oscar V. Peterson was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for closing bulkhead valves on USS Neosho during the 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea despite suffering fatal wounds
  • LGBTQ+ advocates and Democratic lawmakers, including Nancy Pelosi, condemned the timing during Pride Month as an attempt to erase Milk’s legacy
  • The Pentagon has directed reviews of other ships named after civil rights leaders, raising the prospect of further renamings