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2025-06-28 -Land of the Free

Hegseth announces Navy oil tanker named after gay rights leader renamed after Medal of Honor recipient

[FoxNews] Defense Secretary declares, 'We are taking the politics out of ship naming' as Pelosi condemns change

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a Navy oil tanker named after gay rights leader Harvey Milk will be renamed after Medal of Honor recipient Oscar V. Peterson.

"We are taking the politics out of ship naming," he wrote on X along with a video announcing the move.

Milk was California’s first openly gay politician, who was shot and killed inside San Francisco city hall by former San Francisco supervisor Dan White. The ship, a fleet replenishment oiler, was originally named after him in 2016 under President Barack Obama.

He served four years in the Navy in the Korean War but left due to his sexuality.

Peterson was awarded the Medal of Honor after his death, having died of his wounds during battle in World War II in an act of self-sacrifice that saved lives.

"People want to be proud of the ship they’re sailing in," Hegseth said of the change. "We're not renaming the ship to anything political. This is not about political activists, unlike the previous administration."

Peterson, who spent 20 years in the Navy, was in charge of running the steam engine in the U.S.S. Neosho when it came under Japanese fire in the Philippines in 1942.

On May 7, 1942, the Neosho was severely damaged during the Battle of the Coral Sea. Peterson and other members of his repair party were badly injured, but Peterson managed to close four bulkhead steam valves. He sustained third-degree burns in the process, but the move kept the ship afloat. On May 11, the U.S.S. Henley rescued 123 survivors from the Neosho, and Peterson died two days later from his wounds.

The renaming comes amid a push from Hegseth to remove DEI and "woke" policies from the Department of Defense.

When the move was first reported earlier this month, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the move a "shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers for all to chase the American Dream."

Of course she did.

"As the rest of us are celebrating the joy of Pride Month, it is my hope that the Navy will reconsider this egregious decision," Pelosi said in a statement.

Posted by Skidmark 2025-06-28 00:54|| || Front Page|| ||Comments [24 views ] Top

#1 When I first heard that this Oiler was going to be named after Milk (2016?), my first thought was that someone was having a joke.

Although the ship is a 'Lubrication Delivery System'.

Posted by Mullah Richard 2025-06-28 05:53|| 2025-06-28 05:53|| Front Page || Comments Top

#2 ...I'm truly sorry that Mr. Milk was murdered; AFAIK he did nothing wrong to his killer other than existing. But he had a fairly well-known fondness for underage boys, and an unfortunate death cannot erase that. The naming never should have happened in the first place.

Now let's do USS John Murtha (LPD-26), who not only lied about US Marines committing war crimes, but cheerfully spread them. And then we can do USS John Stennis (CVN-74), named for one of the most bitter and brutal segregationists who ever walked Capitol Hill.

Mike

Posted by MikeKozlowski 2025-06-28 06:20|| 2025-06-28 06:20|| Front Page || Comments Top

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