Port Chicago is near San Francisco, California. It is a Navy base and an ammunition loading facility. Port Chicago was strictly segregated. All the ammunition loaders were black $and the officers were white. It was a busy port where young sailors loaded bombs and ammunition onto ships bound for American Troops in the Pacific. There was a lack of training and unsafe working conditions for black sailors. On July 17, 1944, a huge explosion rocked Port Chicago killing over 300 service men and injuring hundreds more. Port Chicago took place during World War two, and was the war’s deadliest homefront accident.
The Big Boom
The African American men were not trained in handling ammunitions. Two merchants ships were being loaded on July 17, 1994. The holds were being packed with 4,600 tons of explosive bombs, depth charges and ammunition. The explosion took several seconds to destroy everything and everyone in the vicinity. Damage was found 48 miles away from San Francisco, and could be felt in Nevada 430 miles away.
The surviving men in these units were reassigned to Mare Island. They were ordered to load more ammunitions, but still had not received any training. 258 African American sailors refused. Most of the men that refused to do the task were arrested. 208 of these men were court-martialed, and 50 of the men were charged with outright mutiny, a crime punishable by death. That’s how Port Chicago 50 got it’s name, by the fifty men charged with mutiny. However, no Port Chicago sailor was sentenced to death.
Thurgood Marshall was the first black Supreme Court Justice. He was rejected from law school at first because of his race, but then he served for twenty four years. Thurgood Marshall was a civil rights hero. The NAACP sent Marshall to Port Chicago. He frequently spoke to the press. “This is net fifty men on trial for mutiny. This is the Navy on trial for its whole vicious policy toward Negroes. Negroes are not afraid of anything anymore than anyone else. Negroes in the Navy don't mind loading ammunition. They just want to know why they are the only ones doing the loading!” This sums up the what the African Americans thought.
Freddie Meeks was part of the Port Chicago 50 survivors, and was one of the only African Americans still alive in the 1990s. He was urged to petition the President for a pardon. The other Port Chicago 50 survivors had refused to ask for pardon. They continued to hold the position that they were not guilty of mutiny. In September of 1999, the petition was supported by 37 congressmen. Including George Miller, the U.S. Representative for the district containing Port Chicago. These 37 congressmen sent a letter to President, Bill Clinton. Freddie Meeks was pardoned by Bill Clinton.
In 2007 a new bill was entered into Congress. This bill was introduced by George Miller, a democratic representative from California. It states that much of Port Chicago will have a national park status and will be a memorial to honor the 320 sailors who died in this tragedy. Miller wants to provide visitor services and general access for anyone who wants to show respect to the ones lost in the explosion. Although this accident was a misfortune, it has changed the history in the United States and the Armed Forces forever.