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 New
legislation could put a forgotten naval site on the National Park
System Map.
On the night of July 17, 1944, Petty
Officer Irvin Lowery was in his room relaxing with friends when a
powerful explosion blasted him out of his chair. The window
behind him shattered, and hundreds of pieces of glass cut into his
back as he was slammed against the opposite wall. It was the
largest, most violent explosion during World War II -- but he
survived; 320 of his colleagues weren't as lucky.
The bloodshed didn't happen overseas,
and it wasn't caused by a foreign enemy. The location was
California's Port Chicago Naval Magazine near the San Francisco Bay,
where thousands of tons of ammunition exploded mysteriously.
At that time, the military was segregated, and African-American
seamen like Lowery were prohibited from serving in battle.
Many of those men ended up in munitions plants, working under white
officers who held contests to see whose team could load explosives
onto ships the fastest. But the black seamen were never
trained to handle artillery, and many had to purchase gloves and
other basic safeguards themselves.
The explosion was felt as far away as
Boulder City, Nevada--but the events that followed shook the entire
country. More than 60 years later, a growing number of people
would like to see the National Park Service start telling that story
in more detail. Last July, Rep. George Miller (D-CA) took the
first step by introducing legislation that would make Port Chicago
Naval Magazine National Memorial Site an official unit of the
National Park System.
"I knew of the explosion from growing
up in the town next door," Miller says. "Teachers would often
describe it to us in these spectacular terms. But no one ever
discussed the aftermath."
At the time of the explosion, Port
Chicago was front-page news around the country. "But in the
midst of war, new, dramatic headlines quickly replace yesterday's
stories," says Robert Allen, PhD, historian, and author of The
Port Chicago Mutiny." Port Chicago soon faded from the
news, and was in danger of being lost to memory. We need a
national memorial so that all those who served and died at Port
Chicago are remembered and honored for their service to the nation."
While white officers at Port Chicago
were flaunted as heroes, the Navy cast all blame on the
African-Americans at the port--including those who perished.
The black men who were hospitalized never received medical leave,
and no one of color was allowed time to visit with friends and
family.
About a week after the blast, the
Navy assigned 258 black survivors to return to work loading
ammunition at a new base. But 50 men refused, citing unsafe
working conditions. The U.S. Navy charged each of them with
mutiny, put them on trial, and sentenced them up to 15 years in
prison; all of them were dishonorably discharged from the Navy.
Thurgood Marshall, a budding civil rights lawyer at the time, was
horrified by the military's blatant racism, so he stepped in to file
an appeal.
Although he ultimately failed to
clear the men's names, he captured the nation's attention long
enough to put pressure on President Franklin Roosevelt to end the
prison sentences in 1945. Other victories followed, including
President Harry S. Truman's order to desegregate the military in
1948, and the institution of proper training and safety features on
Naval ports where soldiers handled munitions.
If the remaining
survivors can share
their experiences with the nation, old
wounds might begin to heal.
"The African Americans who challenged
the status quo at Port Chicago really helped get the ball rolling
for the broader civil rights movement," says General Superintendent
Martha Lee, who oversees three other national park units in the
region. "I really see them as heroes."
Port Chicago has been under Park
Service management since 1992, but the site lacks Congressional
funding--and it shows. A solitary memorial lists the names of
those who died in the explosion but there is little else for
visitors to see. Because the Army owns the land, visitors need
to make appointments in advance to tour the site. And while
the regional park staff offer basic tours, Congress doesn't offer
any funding to do so.
Miller's legislation could help
secure funding to repair the facility, build a visitor center, and
hire educational rangers to work with school groups. The bill
passed through the Natural Resources Committee, but had not yet
reached the House floor at the time this issue went to print.
"If we want to work toward solving
the complex issues of racial and social injustice, we need to
educate ourselves about this shared history," says Neal Desai,
NPCA's Bay Area Program Manager. "And that includes the story
of Port Chicago."
If the remaining survivors can share
their experiences with the nation, old wounds might begin to heal.
"After World War II, veterans generally didn't talk about their
experiences--but this story was a particularly dark cloud," says
Reverend Diana McDaniel, Irvin Lowery's niece. "I think the
port Chicago survivors would feel a sense of relief to know their
story is being told."
-- Amy Leinbach Marquis
National Parks magazine
Winter 2008
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