The Gateway Pundit reported on an announcement from the Department of Defense that a ship named for gay rights icon Harvey Milk will be renamed.
Milk, a former Navy officer, was one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S., serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 1977 until his assassination in 1978.
Underscoring the Navy’s new policy of ending politicizing ship naming, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the ship will be branded the USNS Oscar V. Peterson to honor the Medal of Honor recipient.
Peterson sacrificed his own life for fellow shipmates and earned the Medal of Honor posthumously.
Secretary of Defense Hegseth sharedm “We are taking the politics out of ship naming.”
“We’re not renaming the ship to anything political. This is not about political activists, unlike the previous administration… People want to be proud of the ship they’re sailing in.”
Peterson earned hero status for his actions in the Battle of the Coral Sea during the Second World War. Although he was gravely wounded, when Japanese dive bombers targeted the USS Neosho in the Pacific, he single-handedly closed the ship’s bulkhead stop valves to keep it operational.
Per the Military Hall of Honor:
Citation: For extraordinary courage and conspicuous heroism above and beyond the call of duty while in charge of a repair party during an attack on the USS Neosho by enemy Japanese aerial forces on 7 May 1942. Lacking assistance because of injuries to the other members of his repair party and severely wounded himself, Peterson, with no concern for his own life, closed the bulkhead stop valves and in so doing received additional burns which resulted in his death. His spirit of self-sacrifice and loyalty, characteristic of a fine seaman, was in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.
“His spirit of self-sacrifice and concern for his fellow crewmates was in keeping with the finest traditions of the Navy,” Hegseth shared.
Watch:
I am pleased to announce that the United States Navy is renaming the USNS Harvey Milk to the USNS Oscar V. Peterson.
We are taking the politics out of ship naming. pic.twitter.com/2ypwAQGdAl
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) June 27, 2025
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