The U.S. Navy plans to name a ship after LGBT icon and politician Harvey Milk, according to a notification signed by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus that was first reported Thursday by USNI News.
The notification, signed July 14, indicated the Navy will put Milk’s name on a Military Sealift Command fleet oiler, making it the second of the John Lewis-class oilers, according to USNI News.
Ships in this class, named after Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), are to bear the name of civil rights leaders, according to the site. Additional names for Lewis-class ships include Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, women’s right activist Lucy Stone and abolitionist Sojourner Truth.
Milk was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, where he served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He was assassinated on November 27, 1978.
“In The Navy!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InBXu-iY7cwNaming an oiler after a gay man? The oiler USS Harvey Milk. I loved Harvey and I love the irony.
Naming these ships after civil rights leaders is a wonderful idea. The fact that doing so will piss off all the right people is an added bonus.
Thanks, John Lewis!!!
Is that him in the photo? Did he serve? If so, wtf is with this article not even mentioning it?