SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The controversy over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordering the renaming of a Navy vessel has thrust the name of the late Harvey Milk back into the national limelight. Milk, a gay rights icon, is the namesake of the U.S. Navy replenishment oiler the USNS Harvey Milk.

The vessel is a John Lewis-class replenishment ship that was named in 2016 by then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who said all John-Lewis class oilers would be named for leaders who fought for civil and human rights.

Born in Woodmere, New York in 1930, Milk was a naval and combat veteran who served for years during the Korean War before being forced out for being gay. Milk made history in 1978 when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming one of the first openly gay men elected t

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