Pentagon renames naval ship previously honoring gay rights advocate

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Scripps News

Posted 9:56 AM, Jun 27, 2025
and last updated 11:54 AM, Jun 27, 2025


Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday that the naval ship previously honoring Harvey Milk has been renamed the USNS Oscar V. Peterson.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, Milk served in the Navy during the Korean War as a diving officer. He was later elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, becoming the first openly gay elected official in California. Milk was assassinated in 1978, less than a year after taking office. The ship was christened in 2021.

Peterson was a chief watertender for the Navy during World War II. He was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor for his service. He died in the sinking of USS Neosho in 1942.

"We are taking the politics out of ship naming," Hegseth said in a post on X. "We are not renaming the ship to anything political. This is not about political activism, unlike the previous administration. Instead, we are renaming the ship after a United States Navy Congressional Medal of Honor recipient."

Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/us-news/military/pentagon-renames-naval-ship-previously-honoring-gay-rights-advocate

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We are taking the politics out of ship naming,

And then bringing it back using your OWN "RW politics" instead. Being LGBTQ+ does NOT equal "political", so I hope your Log Cabin Republicans appreciate being thrown under the bus.

[underpants]

1. Navy watertender rating was active from 188 to 1948.

In the US Navy, a watertender was a petty officer responsible for the operation and maintenance of a ship's boilers and associated equipment. This included tasks like tending the fires, managing water levels, and ensuring proper steam pressure.

[Karasu]

2. "Being LGBTQ+ does NOT equal "political."

You and I know that, sure. But it damn well fucking does mean that in the minds of conservatives, and it always has.

[pat_k]

9. To claim stripping the name as somehow "apolitical" is lunacy.

These people are f-ing insane.

It is all about politics. Christian Nationalism and White Supremacy. That is the "politics" that is on vivid display.

Immoral and Un-American.

[WestMichRad]

3. Oscar V Peterson seems like a person worthy of the honor...

… of having a US Navy ship named after him. Plus he meets the paramount Kegbreath criterion of having light skin.

Just don’t tell him that the much more renown Oscar (E.) Peterson, the outstanding (Canadian) jazz pianist, wasn’t so… light-skinned.

[FBaggins]

10. He absolutely was

It's a shame that it had to come like this. He doesn't deserve to be associated the dishonoring of the former name

[progree]

4. It's reestablishing warrior culture

[LudwigPastorius]

5. "We are taking the politics out of ship naming,"

So, we'll never see a U.S.S. Trump then, right?

[FBaggins]

11. Oh no... we absolutely must

And before he passes away please

[AverageOldGuy]

6. USNS Medgar Evers

This ship is named for Medgar Evers. This is from the Wikipedia article on Eveers:

In 1943, Evers enlisted in the United States Army at the age of 17; he was prompted to do so by the racism he experienced at home and Charles' prior enlistment in the Army. Evers served in the 657th Port Company, a segregated unit of the Army's Transportation Corps, participating in the Normandy landings in June 1944. In France, Evers' unit was part of the Red Ball Express, which delivered supplies to Allied troops fighting on the frontlines.

Evers was a well-known civil rights activist in Mississippi and was the target of many death threats. In July 1963 he was shot in the driveway of his home. A local hospital first refused him admission because of his race, they later admitted him, he died a few hours later.

How long before Hogsbreath removes Evers' name from the ship?

[electricmonk]

7. It's on the list

https://www.military.com/history/hegseth-wants-rename-8-naval-ships-here-are-stories-behind-their-namesakes.html

[RazorbackExpat]

8. Holy guano, Batman!

There's no depth to which the Trumpreich won't sink