Pearl Harbor, 80 years on: Veteran Doris Miller's legacy can be felt at home and across the country

BREMERTON, Wash. — Doris Miller awoke before dawn and was gathering laundry aboard the USS West Virginia on a December morning 80 years ago when alarms rang out.

As Japanese aircraft pummeled Pearl Harbor, the 22-year-old mess attendant from Waco, Texas, placed himself in the line of fire on the battleship's deck, carrying wounded men to safety and eventually grabbing and firing a Browning machine gun he was untrained to use because of the color of his skin. 

Despite his bravery, Miller never wanted to be a war hero. 

"All he wanted to do was get to his next ship," said Regina T. Akers, a historian with the Navy's history and heritage command. "He wasn't really that comfortable with the spotlight." 

America had other plans for him.