Description
by ALEXX ALTMAN-DEVILBISS | The National News Desk
Fri, June 27th 2025 at 2:52 PMIn this image provided by the U.S. Navy, the John Lewis-class replenishment oiler USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206) conducts a replenishment at sea in the Atlantic Ocean, Dec. 13, 2024. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Maxwell Orlosky/U.S. Navy via AP))
WASHINGTON (TNND) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday the new name for the USNS Harvey Milk after he ordered the Navy to remove the name of the veteran and gay civil rights icon from the ship.
"We are taking the politics out of ship naming," Hegseth said in a video posted to social media. "We're not renaming the ship to anything political. This is not about political activists, unlike the previous administration. Instead, we're renaming the ship after a United States Navy Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, as it should be."
The ship will now be named after World War II sailor, Chief Petty Officer Oscar V. Peterson, who was awarded the highest military decoration posthumously for his actions during the 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea in the Pacific.
The move follows actions by the Trump administration to remove references to diversity, equity and inclusion from the military.
In February, Hegseth directed military services to find $50 billion in programs that could be cut to align with President Donald Trump's objectives to “re-establish the warrior culture," according to a Department of Defense statement.
Former Mississippi governor and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus named the vessel the USNS Harvey Milk in 2016.
Hegseth added that Peterson's "spirit of self-sacrifice and concern for his crewmates was in keeping with the finest traditions of the Navy."
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