Pete Hegseth Announces New Name for USNS Harvey Milk: ‘Taking the Politics Out of Ship Naming’
(Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Maxwell Orlosky/U.S. Navy/AP photo/X)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has revealed the new name for the USNS Harvey Milk, weeks after he ordered the stripping of the civil rights icon’s name from the Navy vessel.
In a video posted to the Department of Defense X account Friday morning, Hegseth said the oiler ship, originally named for the gay San Francisco city councilor assassinated in 1978, would now be known as the USNS Oscar V. Peterson.
“Well, I’m pleased to officially announce that the Department of the Navy is renaming the fleet replenishment oiler, formerly known as the USNS Harvey Milk, to the USNS Oscar V. Peterson,” Hegseth proclaimed in the video.
Peterson, a World War II Navy chief, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942.
“We are taking the politics out of ship-naming,” Hegseth added. “We’re not renaming the ship to anything political.
This is not about political activists, unlike the previous administration. Instead, we’re renaming the ship after a United States Navy Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, as it should be. People want to be proud of the ship they’re sailing in, and so we’re renaming it after a chief, a Navy chief.”
Milk also served in the Navy during the Korean War, but never deployed. He was given a “less than honorable” discharge in 1955 amid questions about his sexual orientation.
“The official also said that the timing of the announcement — during Pride month — was intentional,” Military.com reported.
The move comes after Hegseth declared war on various diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives from the military.
Back in March, an article about MLB legend Jackie Robinson’s military service was removed but quietly restored after backlash. Images of Black soldiers, pioneering female service members, and even photos of the World War II Hiroshima bomber Enola Gay, were also flagged for removal.
