In 1946, a group of determined and like-minded individuals set out to establish the American Legion Dorie Miller Post 194 & Auxiliary Unit in Arlington. Their courage to start a new post speaks volumes about who they were and the man the post honors.
The Arlington Historical Society welcomes Post Commander Clarence Buchanan and several officers of this American Legion Post as they tell the story of how Dorie Miller’s heroic actions aboard the USS West Virginia on December 7, 1941 inspired African American veterans to establish a post honoring a Black Navy Messman even before the US military was desegregated in 1947.
In 2022, Arlington County proclaimed October 12, Dorie Miller Day. The proclamation reads in part:
“Arlington County recognizes the American Legion Dorie Miller Post 194 as
an organization of veterans who have dedicated themselves to the service of community, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and our nation; and
WHEREAS, American Legion Post 194 is named after Doris “Dorie” Miller, a U.S. Navy
Messman aboard the USS West Virginia during World War II who selflessly and without any hesitation acted heroically during the attack on his vessel at Pearl Harbor in 1941, for which he was awarded the Navy Cross.”
Help us honor the man and the men and women of Post 194 as a prelude to Dorie Miller Day on October 12, 2025.
