80th Anniversary Of The Port Chicago Explosion

Image by National Parks Service - Luther Bailey

Today makes the 80th Anniversary of the Port Chicago explosion which occurred at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in California

On Monday, July 17, 1944, at 10:18 pm, crew members were working in shifts to load ammunition onto ships so they could be sent off to fight in WWII. The explosion ripped through the shipyard at Port Chicago. The explosions killed and wounded a total of 710 people (320 killed /390 injured). 435 were African American sailors.

DeSaulnier Commemorates Port Chicago Anniversary on House Floor

Congressman Mark DeSaulnier remembered the lives of the hundreds who were killed and wounded at the floor last week. He also recognized the bravery of the Port Chicago 50 and called, once again, for their full exoneration in a speech.


July 18-21: Port Chicago Weekend

Join the Port Chicago Alliance for the Port Chicago Weekend. This is a four-day festival held across various Bay Area cities, featuring music, art, food, education, and commemoration. The festivities align with and support the 80th Anniversary of the national World War II and civil rights history of Port Chicago which profoundly impacted the San Francisco Bay Area in 1944. For more information + events, click here


More information

For more background and information on the The Port Chicago Disaster: 320 American Lives Forever Remembered, you can visit the National States Park, click here

 

Background:

  • After an explosion at Port Chicago in Concord, CA that killed 320 men – most of whom were African-Americans naval seamen – other African-American seamen were ordered back to work loading munitions at the same location.
  • Two-hundred and fifty eight of these sailors refused the orders because working conditions remained unsafe and they had not been trained to handle munitions.
  • After being threatened with the death penalty, 208 of these men reluctantly returned to work. However, the remaining 50 were court-martialed and sentenced to 17 years in prison.
  • They were later discharged with honor, which shows that the U.S. Navy acknowledged the convictions were unjust.
  • Their convictions, however, were never rescinded and the “Port Chicago 50” would carry the mutiny charges until they died.

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