The U.S. Postal Service today honored four awesome Sailors in American history by issuing collectible stamps with their images.

One of the Sailors honored was an African-American World War II hero - a great way to kick off Black History Month. Doris Miller (portrayed by Cuba Gooding Jr. in the movie "Pearl Harbor") was serving aboard the battleship West Virginia when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The mess attendant (the only job open to blacks at the time) helped rescue scores of shipmates wounded or trapped in the wreckage of the battleship. He also manned a .50-caliber machine gun to fire on Japanese aircraft until ordered to abandon his post as fires raged out of control. Miller, who was later awarded the Navy Cross, was killed in 1943 along with more than 600 shipmates when an enemy torpedo sank the new escort aircraft carrier Liscome Bay during the invasion of the Gilbert Islands. His body was lost at sea.

The other heroes honored with a stamp were:

William S. Sims, commander of U.S. naval forces in European waters during World War I. Sims was an outspoken reformer and innovator who helped shape the Navy into a modern fighting force.

Arleigh A. Burke, one of the top destroyer squadron commanders of World War II who had an equally distinguished postwar career in which he played a major role in modernizing the Navy and guiding its response to the Cold War.

John McCloy, one of the few men in the nation’s history to earn two Medals of Honor for a rescue mission during the Boxer Rebellion in which he was wounded, and during the 1914 Mexican Revolt for intentionally exposing his boat to draw enemy fire to identify their positions for retaliation by U.S. cruiser gunfire. Shot in the thigh, he remained on post 48 hours until the brigade surgeon sent him to a hospital.

Salute!