The U.S. Navy has announced plans to rename USNS Harvey Milk, a John Lewis–class replenishment oiler christened in 2021 to honor the late gay rights leader and Navy veteran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s directive instructs Navy Secretary John Phelan to select a new name by mid-week, with an official announcement following legal review. Documents obtained by CBS News reveal that renaming occurs during Pride Month—when the ship’s original designation commemorated both Harvey Milk’s military service and his historic activism.
Harvey Milk served as an operations officer aboard submarines during the Korean War before becoming one of America’s first openly gay elected officials in 1977. Milk was assassinated in 1978, and the 2021 christening of USNS Harvey Milk symbolized progress in military inclusivity. Critics, such as former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, decry the renaming as a “vindictive erasure” of civil rights history.
In addition to USNS Harvey Milk, the Navy is considering new names for vessels honoring Thurgood Marshall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Harriet Tubman, Cesar Chavez, Medgar Evers, Dolores Huerta, and Lucy Stone. Hegseth’s “Identity Months Dead at DoD” guidance halts official recognition of heritage observances—including Pride Month—citing a return to a traditional “warrior culture.” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell emphasized that future ship names will reflect presidential priorities, national history, and the military’s warrior ethos.
