Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that the U.S. Navy will rename a replenishment ship previously named after gay rights icon Harvey Milk, replacing it with the name of a true American war hero — Medal of Honor recipient Chief Watertender Oscar V. Peterson.
“I’m pleased to officially announce that the Department of the Navy is renaming the replenishment oiler formerly known as the USNS Harvey Milk to the USNS Oscar V. Peterson,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon press briefing. “We are taking the politics out of ship-naming.”
The move is part of a broader Trump administration effort to restore merit and heroism — not identity politics — as the standard for honoring Americans in military tradition. Hegseth noted that the previous naming, done under the Obama administration, was rooted in activism, not valor.
“People want to be proud of the ship they’re sailing in,” Hegseth said. “We’re renaming it after a Navy chief who, during the Battle of the Coral Sea, gave his life in an act of unbelievable bravery.”
Chief Peterson led a damage control team aboard the U.S.S. Neosho after it was struck by Japanese dive bombers in May 1942. Severely burned and mortally wounded, he managed to close bulkhead stop valves and keep the ship afloat, sacrificing himself in the process. He died days later and was buried at sea. For his actions, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Peterson left behind a wife and two sons. Hegseth praised his courage as “in keeping with the finest traditions of the Navy.”
The ship had previously been named for Harvey Milk, a San Francisco city supervisor and prominent gay rights activist who was assassinated in 1978. Milk’s naval career, as critics have noted, was unremarkable — yet the Obama-era Navy leadership chose to elevate him as part of a larger identity-driven naming campaign.
Hegseth’s announcement drew praise from veterans and service members who’ve long criticized the politicization of military institutions.
“Today we restore honor to the ship’s name,” Hegseth said. “Welcome to the Navy’s Vessel Register, USNS Oscar V. Peterson.”
I am pleased to announce that the United States Navy is renaming the USNS Harvey Milk to the USNS Oscar V. Peterson.
We are taking the politics out of ship naming. pic.twitter.com/2ypwAQGdAl
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) June 27, 2025