'Taking politics out': Pete Hegseth rechristens US Navy ship named after gay rights leader; gives it World War II sailor's name

US defense secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday (local time) announced the new name - USNS Oscar V Peterson - of USNS Harvey Milk, days after he directed the United States Navy to rename the ship.

"We are taking the politics out of ship naming," he wrote on X along with a video announcing the move.


The "politics" Hegseth referred to is that the ship's previous name was a tribute to Harvey Milk, a politician and gay rights activist. Milk, who served four years in the Navy in the Korean War but left due to his sexuality, later became California’s first openly homosexual politician.

In November 1978, aged 48, he was shot and killed inside San Francisco city hall by Dan White, a former San Francisco supervisor. He was also the subject of the 2008 critically-acclaimed biopic "Milk."


On the other hand, Oscar V Peterson spent 20 years in the Navy and was killed during a World War II battle, in an act of self-sacrifice which saved lives. Peterson received a posthumous Medal of Honor for his act of bravery.

USNS Harvey Milk, a fleet replenishment oiler, was originally named in 2016 under then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat.
Its name-change comes amid a push from Hegseth to remove DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and "woke" policies from the department of defense, which he leads in the administration of Donald Trump, a Republican.


When the move was first reported earlier this month, Rep Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, called it a "shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers for all to chase the American Dream."

"As the rest of us are celebrating the joy of Pride Month, it is my hope that the Navy will reconsider this egregious decision," Pelosi's statement read.