Elected officials in California are voicing contempt for plans to take gay rights activist and Navy veteran Harvey Milk’s name off a U.S. naval ship.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the U.S. Navy to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, a fleet replenishment John Lewis-class oiler, according to military.com. Hegseth’s order was done to align with President Donald Trump, Navy Secretary John Phelan and Hegseth’s priorities of “reestablishing the warrior culture,” the website reported.
The Navy hasn’t announced what the ship’s new name will be.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the decision to remove Milk’s name an “assault on veterans,” in a post on X Tuesday. In the same post, Newsom also said the renaming revealed Trump’s contempt for the values U.S. veterans fight to protect.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria followed suit in a separate post on X, claiming the decision disrespects Milk’s legacy as a veteran and civil rights activist, and insults LGBTQ history and service members. News of the decision came during LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
The naming ceremony for the USNS Harvey Milk, a John Lewis-class oiler, was done by previous Navy Secretary Ray Mabus in San Francisco in 2016, as a way of commemorating Milk’s activism in the city and service on the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors in 1977 before being assassinated in 1978. Mabus chose Milk because John Lewis ships are to be named after prominent civil rights leaders and activists, according to military.com. Lewis, a longtime congressman and civil rights activist, died in 2020.
The USNS Harvey Milk was built by the General Dynamics NASSCO yard in San Diego and christened in the San Diego Bay in 2021.
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Author: Ray Hilbrich
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