Minority Veterans

Doris Miller joined the Navy in 1939, on the eve of World War II, as a mess attendant. He was assigned to a battleship at Pearl Harbor, and on Dec. 7, 1941, performed acts of gallantry that earned him the Navy Cross.

The American Civil War began in April 1861 and within a month, enslaved African Americans, like those from Loutre Island, seeking shelter behind Union lines shifted the war’s objectives - improving emancipation policies. NCA intern Jacob Klinger dives into the experience of Soldier John Pitzer, who served in this dynamic time period and is memorialized at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis.