Latest news with #OscarV.Peterson
New York Post
10 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Hegseth unveils new name of USNS Harvey Milk
The US Navy has officially changed the name of its ship honoring slain gay-rights icon Harvey Milk to the USNS Oscar V. Peterson in commemoration of the WWII Medal of Honor recipient. 'We are taking the politics out of ship naming. We're not renaming the ship to anything political, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in a video address. '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 said. 'People want to be proud of the ship they're sailing in, and so we're renaming it after a Navy chief.' 4 Oscar V. Peterson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic acts in WWII. USN The USNS Oscar V. Peterson is a replenishment oiler that provides support to carrier strike groups at sea. It was christened in 2021 under the Biden administration for Milk, who served as a sailor during the Korean War but was forced out of the Navy for being gay. 4 Gay-rights icon Harvey Milk served in the US Navy during the Korean War. USN Milk became one of the first openly gay elected officials in American history when he successfully ran to serve on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. He and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were both assassinated in 1978 by a disgruntled former city supervisor who opposed the gay-rights activist's push to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodations, housing and employment. 4 The USNS Harvey Milk was christened and launched at a ceremony in San Diego in 2021. AFP via Getty Images Meanwhile, Chief Watertender Oscar V. Peterson was posthumously awarded the military's highest award for his service in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Peterson had led a repair party on the USS Neosho, which had been severely damaged by Japanese dive bombers during the attack. With nearly all of his repair party dead or wounded, Peterson, himself gravely wounded, mustered the strength to close the bulkhead stop valves, keeping the ship afloat. He suffered significant burns from his effort that led to his death days later. Peterson was awarded the medal of honor in December of that year. 4 Crewmembers of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force training vessel the JS Kashima wave toward the US Navy oiler during an exercise in the Virginia Capes in September. via REUTERS The decision to rename the ship notably comes at the end of Pride Month, where more LGBTQ festivities are expected in cities such as New York this weekend. Navy Secretary John Phelan issued a memo last month indicating that several ships' names would be reviewed for possible change to help in 'reestablishing the warrior culture' in the Navy. Ships named after judicial trailblazers, civil-rights icons and labor leaders are also on the renaming 'recommended list.' Those vessels reportedly include the USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, USNS Harriet Tubman, USNS Dolores Huerta, USNS Lucy Stone, USNS Cesar Chavez and USNS Medgar Evers.
Hindustan Times
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Harvey Milk: Pete Hegseth says naval ship to be renamed after Oscar V. Peterson, here's why
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday, June 27, announced that the US Navy has changed the name of USNS Harvey Milk, a fleet replenishment ship, to Oscar V. Peterson. The ship was earlier named after the Navy veteran, who was one of the country's first openly gay elected officials, The New York Times reported. In this image provided by the U.S. Navy, the John Lewis-class replenishment oiler USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206) conducts a replenishment at sea in the Atlantic Ocean, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP) It has now been renamed for Oscar V. Peterson, a chief petty officer, who was posthumously honored with the Medal of Honor for valor during World War II. 'We are taking the politics out of ship naming,' Hegseth said in a statement released on social media platform X, alongside a video. In the clip, Hegseth noted that they were not 'renaming the ship to anything political' and the naming of the vessel had nothing to do with 'political activists, unlike the previous administration.' Who was Harvey Milk? Born on May 22, 1930 in Woodmere, New York, Milk was a civil rights leader. He became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the US after winning a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, according to Harvey Milk Foundation. He was assassinated in the following year and later became a gay rights icon. The fleet replenishment oiler was named after California's first openly gay politician under the Barack Obama administration in 2016. Also read: Hegseth orders the name of gay rights activist Harvey Milk scrubbed from Navy ship Harvey Milk's tenure in the US Navy Milk served in the US Navy between 1951 and 1955. Initially, he graduated from high school to become a high school teacher, but could not do it as his grades at the New York State College for Teachers were fairly poor, National Archives states. After passing out from the Albany-based institution in 1951, Milk went on to serve in the US Navy during the Korean War. Later on, he was given the 'other than honorable' discharge in 1955 after he was found to have engaged in sexual acts. As per Newsweek, he had to leave the service due to his sexuality or face court-martial. Thereafter, he served in many roles and even became a financial analyst in New York. He later opened a camera store after shifting to San Francisco in 1972 and soon became popular in the gay community. During his last few years, he was engaged in politics and civil rights activism. FAQs: 1. Who was Oscar V. Peterson? Peterson hailed from Prentice, Wisconsin and served as the chief watertender on the U.S.S. Neosho when it was attacked by Japan during the Battle of the Coral Sea on May 7, 1942. 2. What's the new name of USNS Harvey Milk? The fleet replenishment ship has now been renamed to USNS Oscar V. Peterson. 3. Why has the US Navy renamed USNS Harvey Milk? Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the government was 'taking the politics out of ship naming.'
