World War II

After the Pearl Harbor bombing in 1941, the Naval Ammunition Depot at Mare Island, California went to full capacity producing ammunition. When the facility couldn’t keep up with demand, operations were expanded to the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in San Franciso.

Construction began on the new installation in 1942 and by 1944 African-American navy personnel could load two ships simultaneously at the site. Although the men worked around the clock under the supervision of white officers, the troops had received training in cargo handling only — not munitions work.

Late in the day on July 17, 1944 the SS Quinault Victory and the SS E.A. Bryan were receiving about 4,606 tons of incendiary and high explosive bombs, ammunition, and depth charges. On the pier, sixteen rail cars held another 429 tons of highly explosive material. At 10:18 p.m., it all blew.

When the smoke cleared, the port was crippled and 320 men, most of them African-American sailors, were dead. It was the largest disaster on the homefront during the entire war. No clear reason for the explosion was ever determined.

Yesterday ceremonies were held at the site to commemorate the 63rd aniversary of the blast and if advocates have their way, Port Chicago will become part of the National Park System. An important reminder that lives were lost on the homefront as well as on the battlefield and that the contribution of segregated troops to the war effort was heroic, patriotic and substantial.

For more on the ceremones see this story from the International Herald Tribune. For more on the disaster and work to preserve the site and the memory of the men who died there, click here. For a list of those who died, click here.

Naval Ammunition Depot, Mare Island, Port Chicago, San Francisco, WWII