| What makes it historical? |
This was the site of America’s worst homefront disaster during World War II! Here, on July 17, 1944, two ammunition ships exploded at port, blasting one ship halfway across San Pablo Bay, flattening the town of Port Chicago, and raining debris as far as San Mateo County! 320 people were vaporized instantly! The worst part, though, is that it could have all been prevented!
During World War II, a lot of African-Americans who came west to help with the war effort were placed in low-ranking, menial jobs under supervision of white officers. Those who came to Port Chicago were put in charge of loading ammunition with little training and little in the way of safety equipment. No one knows exactly what set off the fateful explosion, but someone had given the order to line up two major ammunition ships side-by-side at the port. Had they not been side-by-side, the damage from a mistake could have been much less.
In the wake of the disaster, many of the white officers got bereavement leave, while the African-American workers were immediately ordered to start picking up the pieces of their friends. This led 258 survivors to refuse to return to work. 50 were hand-picked to be charged and convicted with mutiny! To this day, many of them have not been officially exonerated, but the incident did inspire President Harry Truman to order desegregation of the armed forces and also inspired many of the civil rights movements of the 50s and 60s! |
