Effort to rename Navy ships honoring minority, gay leaders is wrong | Opinion
Nothing spells homophobia and discrimination like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s order to the Navy on Tuesday to review the names of ships honoring Harvey Milk – one of the country’s first openly gay elected officials – and other prominent civil rights leaders. That his demand was made at the dawn of Pride Month is a slap at the LGBTQ+ community.
“Secretary Hegseth is committed to ensuring that the names attached to all (Department of Defense) installations and assets are reflective of the commander in chief’s priorities, our nation’s history, and the warrior ethos,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The story was first reported by Military.com, which said the renaming of the USNS Harvey Milk, an oiler ship, was scheduled to be made June 13. The timing during Pride Month was intentional, the site said.
If Milk – who served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War aboard a submarine rescue ship – does not fit the warrior ethos, then we are living under the wrong leadership.
The USNS Harvey Milk was launched in November 2021 after a 2016 decision by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus to name all John Lewis-class oilers after civil rights leaders.
Milk, who was assassinated while in office in 1978, is an icon in the LGBTQ+ community. At a Friday morning raising of the Pride flag at Fresno City Hall, four individuals or their organizations were honored with the Harvey Milk Community Leader Award.
The condemnations of the Trump administration’s efforts to erase the memories of big swaths of Americans were quick.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Milk was more than a civil rights icon, “he was a Korean War combat veteran whose commander called him ‘outstanding.’”
“Stripping his name from a Navy ship won’t erase his legacy as an American icon, but it does reveal Trump’s contempt for the very values our veterans fight to protect.”
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, nailed it on X (formerly Twitter): “Our military is the most powerful in the world – but this spiteful move does not strengthen our national security or the ‘warrior’ ethos. It is a shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers for all to chase the American Dream.”
It’s time that Trump and his cronies realize that this great country has been built by generations of immigrants and people from all walks of life, religion and gender identity. They won wars, built cities, sacrificed for their families and inspired the innovation that continues to bless our nation.
Hegseth’s efforts to downplay their contributions reflects his weakness as a human being. It also reveals his racism and sexism. The names of the first Black Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and civil rights leader Medgar Evers are among the names the defense secretary wants banished.
It’s not as if minorities are absent in the military. According to the Navy, 38.4% of its service members are from minority communities. That includes Latinos (18.3%) and Blacks (17.2%).
Other names to be scrubbed
Milk, Marshall, Evers and others have served their country with distinction. Their service to this country was just as valuable as any other individual’s. They represented not only their community but also their country.
Others on the list include Underground Railroad figure Harriet Tubman, suffragist/abolitionist Lucy Stone and United Farm Workers co-founders César E. Chávez and Dolores Huerta.
Some ships with their names have yet to be constructed, like the one for Huerta, who at 95 years of age remains active.
The USNS Cesar Chavez was launched in 2012 in honor of the labor leader who died in 1993. He was 17 when he joined the Navy during World War II and served for two years.
The USNS Dolores Huerta, a future John Lewis-class oiler, was named in 2024 by Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro.
“Dolores Huerta has been a leading figure in the Hispanic community and a champion of civil and workers’ rights for over 70 years,” said Del Toro in announcing the name. “Dolores Huerta dedicated her life to caring for those voiceless and underrepresented – she dedicated her life to taking care of people.”
If you search the Defense Department’s website and search for “warrior ethos,” you’ll get 98 replies. Unfortunately, rallying service members by yelling “warrior ethos” at the same time you’re diminishing the service of minority Americans doesn’t make you a warrior. It just shows how pathetic and racist you can be.
Shame on Hegseth. He shows no pride in the men and women under his command.
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This story was originally published June 8, 2025 at 5:30 AM.