USNS Harvey Milk departs the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard after a ceremonial address in San Diego, California on November 6, 2021. - One of the first openly gay politicians in the United States, who was assassinated four decades ago, will have a ship named after him this weekend, as the US military looks to keep step with modern-day social attitudes. The USNS Harvey Milk honours a former navy diver who served at a time there was a ban on homosexuality in the armed forces, and who was later shot dead in San Francisco, months after winning public office. (Photo by ARIANA DREHSLER / AFP) (Photo by ARIANA DREHSLER/AFP via Getty Images)
Washington D.C. – Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has directed the Department of the Navy to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, a fleet oiler named after the trailblazing gay rights activist and Navy veteran who was forced out of the service in the 1950s because of his sexual orientation. The change, confirmed by a defense official, is expected to be finalized later this month, during Pride Month.
The decision marks a rare and politically charged reversal of a symbolic naming choice, one intended to reflect both the evolving values of the U.S. military and the diverse histories of those who have served in it.
Originally christened in 2021, the USNS Harvey Milk was part of the John Lewis-class of replenishment oilers, a series of ships named after American civil rights icons. Other vessels in the class include the USNS John Lewis, USNS Earl Warren, and USNS Sojourner Truth. The Biden administration named these vessels to demonstrate the United States Navy’s commitment to reflecting the service of historically marginalized Americans.
Milk served as a Navy diving officer during the Korean War, achieving the rank of lieutenant junior grade before being compelled to resign after his superiors discovered his sexual orientation. At the time, the military did not permit LGBTQ service members to serve openly, and Milk’s career was cut short after he was questioned about his sexuality in 1955.
Following his departure from the military, Milk became a pioneering force in the LGBTQ rights movement. After settling in San Francisco, he helped build a political coalition in the Castro District. He was elected to the city’s Board of Supervisors in 1977, becoming one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States and the first in California. Milk’s brief but influential tenure included passage of one of the country’s early anti-discrimination ordinances protecting gay and lesbian individuals in housing and employment.
Milk was assassinated less than a year into his term, alongside San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, by a disgruntled former colleague on the board. The light sentence handed down to his killer prompted widespread protests and unrest.
The Navy’s decision to name a ship in Milk’s honor nearly four decades later was a landmark gesture, and an acknowledgment not only of Milk’s military service but of the military’s own evolving posture toward LGBTQ personnel.
Now, under Hegseth’s leadership, that symbolic recognition appears to be coming to an end. The Secretary of Defense has made no secret of his desire to reshape the culture of the armed forces. Since taking office, he has moved to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs within the Department of Defense and expressed a desire to reemphasize what he calls a “warrior ethos.”
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that decisions regarding ship renaming would be made public only after internal reviews are complete.
The move has already drawn condemnation from Democratic lawmakers and former officials. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, who has long championed LGBTQ rights and represented San Francisco during Milk’s time, issued a sharp rebuke. Her statements reads:
The reported decision by the Trump Administration to change the names of the USNS Harvey Milk and other ships in the John Lewis-class is a shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers for all to chase the American Dream. Our military is the most powerful in the world – but this spiteful move does not strengthen our national security or the ‘warrior’ ethos. Instead, it is a surrender of a fundamental American value: to honor the legacy of those who worked to build a better country.
