Port Chicago and the massive munition explosion during WWII.

Citysnaps

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I made this photograph years ago while riding an Amtrak train on the way to Davis, California.

Way back in 1944 during WWII, bombs and ammunition were being loaded from the Port Chicago Naval Magazine onto two ships docked in Suisun Bay, California. A massive explosion occurred during the loading, destroying both ships and killing 320 sailors.

A week later, the sailors who survived the blast were ordered to report to a nearby naval base to continue loading munitions onto other ships. They refused, believing the munition loading procedures were unsafe. 50 of the sailors, all African American, were court-martialed, charged with mutiny, and were subsequently convicted at trial and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Though they were released at the war's end, they still had to endure the stigma of a court martial and mutiny conviction for the rest of their lives.
 
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