Harvey Milk, US 'gay rights icon, snubbed by Pentagon from a Navy ship. Who was he?
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
has announced that the U.S. Navy is officially renaming the ship formerly known as the
USNS Harvey Milk
to the USNS
Oscar V Peterson
.
'We are taking the politics out of ship naming,' Hegseth said in a social media video announcing the decision.
'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.' Hegseth said in a video message Friday that the Navy ship honoring
gay rights icon
Harvey Milk has a new name. It is now named after Medal of Honor recipient Oscar V. Peterson, a chief petty officer who posthumously received the nation's highest honor for military valor in action.
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Oscar Verner Peterson: WWII legend, after whom naval ship USNS Harvey Milk has been renamed, takes the helm
Who was Harvey Milk?
According to NewsWeek,
Harvey Milk
was one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States and a pioneering figure in the LGBTQ+ rights movement. He served for four years in the Navy during the Korean War, before he was forced out for being gay.
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In 1977, Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man elected to public office in California. He championed civil rights legislation and LGBTQ+ advocacy during his brief but impactful time in office. Milk was assassinated in November 1978, just 11 months into his term, aged 48.
In recognition of his legacy, the U.S. Navy named a ship—the USNS Harvey Milk—in his honor in 2016. He was also posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 by then-President Barack Obama for his contributions to equality and human rights.
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"Harvey was born May 22, 1930, in Woodmere, New York. Harvey and his one sibling, Robert, worked in the family's department store, 'Milks'; his Lithuanian born father, William, served in the U.S. Navy and as did his spirited, independent mother Minerva, also of Lithuanian heritage, who was a Yeomanette during World War I," says
Harvey Milk Foundation
.
The life and career of Harvey Milk have been the subjects of an opera, books, and films. These include the Shilt's biography, The Mayor of Castro Street (1982); the Oscar-winning documentary The Times of Harvey Milk by Robert Epstein(1984); and the Gus Van Sant directed drama Milk (2008). The latter film received eight Academy Award nominations, winning in two categories: Sean Penn was named best actor for his performance in the title role, and Dustin Lance Black won an Oscar for his screenplay.
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