The story of Dorie Miller has always inspired me;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gshbde_6Jyo
Basically, he was a cook onboard the USS West Virginia during the Attack on Pearl Harbor. He had become friends with the ships captain, Mervyn S. Bennion. As bombs struck the ship from the Japs up in the sky, one hit the bridge, killing all but Bennion. Miller made his way to the command deck, and attempted to move his captain, who had had his stomach torn open by shrapnel, who was still barking orders to his crew. He died before Miller could help him, but nonetheless, Miller, who had never even fired a weapon (being seen as lower-class at the time due to his color), took up an AA gun and shot down numerous Japanese Planes. For that he became the first black person to receive The Navy Cross. In 1943, he was serving aboard the USS Lacoma Bay, when it was torpedoed. His fate was never understood, although it is likely he was killed along with the majority of the crew. His body was never found.
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