Born in 1919, Dorie Miller was the first African-American that was rewarded the Navy Cross for his "above and beyond the call of duty" act.  Although he was just a cook in the Navy, he did step up when needed. On December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor, he grabbed a 50 mm bridge gun and shot down at least on Japanese plane while on the U.S.S West Virginia ship. Even though he showed so much dedication to fighting for his country, there was a lot of controversy on whether or not he should be awarded a Navy Cross. It was nearly 6 months after his heroic act when he received the Navy Cross. Unfortunately, Dorie Miller was killed while serving in Navy in 1943 on the U.S.S Liscome Bay. Dorie Miller has a great impact on a lot of people, especially my Dorie Miller History Class.