"Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial" by NPS Photo/Luther Bailey , public domain

Port Chicago Naval Magazine

National Memorial - California

The Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial is a memorial dedicated in 1994 recognizing the dead of the Port Chicago disaster, and the critical role played by Port Chicago, California during World War II, in serving as the main facility for the Pacific Theater of Operations. The memorial is located at the Concord Naval Weapons Station near Concord, California, in the United States.

location

maps

Map of the U.S. National Park System. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).National Park System - National Park Units

Map of the U.S. National Park System. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).

Map of the U.S. National Park System with DOI's Unified Regions. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).National Park System - National Park Units and Regions

Map of the U.S. National Park System with DOI's Unified Regions. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).

Map of the U.S. National Heritage Areas. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).National Park System - National Heritage Areas

Map of the U.S. National Heritage Areas. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).

Ward Map of the East Bay Regional Park District in California. Published by the East Bay Regional Park District.East Bay Regional Parks - Ward Map

Ward Map of the East Bay Regional Park District in California. Published by the East Bay Regional Park District.

Boundary Map of the Mother Lode BLM Field Office area in California. Published by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).Mother Lode - Boundary Map

Boundary Map of the Mother Lode BLM Field Office area in California. Published by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Vintage 1947 USGS 1:250000 Map of San Jose in California. Published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).Vintage USGS - San Jose - 1947

Vintage 1947 USGS 1:250000 Map of San Jose in California. Published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Vintage 1957 USGS 1:250000 Map of San Francisco in California. Published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).Vintage USGS - San Francisco - 1957

Vintage 1957 USGS 1:250000 Map of San Francisco in California. Published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Vintage 1957 USGS 1:250000 Map of Sacramento in California. Published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).Vintage USGS - Sacramento - 1957

Vintage 1957 USGS 1:250000 Map of Sacramento in California. Published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Vintage 1958 USGS 1:250000 Map of Santa Rosa in California. Published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).Vintage USGS - Santa Rosa - 1958

Vintage 1958 USGS 1:250000 Map of Santa Rosa in California. Published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

brochures

Official Brochure of Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial (NMEM) in California. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).Port Chicago Naval Magazine - Brochure

Official Brochure of Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial (NMEM) in California. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).

https://www.nps.gov/poch/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Chicago_Naval_Magazine_National_Memorial The Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial is a memorial dedicated in 1994 recognizing the dead of the Port Chicago disaster, and the critical role played by Port Chicago, California during World War II, in serving as the main facility for the Pacific Theater of Operations. The memorial is located at the Concord Naval Weapons Station near Concord, California, in the United States. On July 17, 1944, a massive explosion jolted the San Francisco East Bay area, shattering windows and lighting up the night sky. At Port Chicago Naval Magazine, 320 men were killed instantly when two ships loading ammunition for Pacific troops exploded, resulting in the worst home front disaster of WWII. The aftermath illuminated the issues of segregation and racial inequality in the military. The Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial is on an active military base, so it is only accessible by reservation. The shuttle picks up visitors with reservations at the John Muir National Historic Site. Please know that all visitors for the memorial must have a reservation. Please visit our website for information on how to obtain reservations. Temporary Port Chicago Visitor Center Important: The Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial shuttle picks up visitors with reservations at the John Muir National Historic Site. Please know that all visitors for the memorial must have a reservation in order to visit the Port Chicago Naval Magazine Memorial. Directions to the John Muir NHS can be found below. Please note that tours for Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial require advance reservations. Please visit our website for more details. The directions provided here are for the John Muir National Historic Site. From San Francisco: Eastbound I-80 (Oakland - San Francisco Bay Bridge) to eastbound Highway 4. Exit at Alhambra Avenue, turning left at bottom of the ramp. Cross beneath highway. The park is immediately on your left. For more directions, please visit the website. Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial Port Chicago Memorial Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial Park signs sitting in rock bed. Trees and bay in background. Park sign at the memorial. Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial Historic train car. Historic train car at the memorial site. Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial Munitions bolted as display in the magazine. Munitions at the memorial. Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial American flag waves in the wind. American flag at the memorial. Pacific Border Province The Pacific Border straddles the boundaries between several of Earth's moving plates on the western margin of North America. This region is one of the most geologically young and tectonically active in North America. The generally rugged, mountainous landscape of this province provides evidence of ongoing mountain-building. Drakes Estero in Point Reyes National Seashore. NPS photo/Sarah Codde Series: Physiographic Provinces Descriptions of the physiographic provinces of the United States, including maps, educational material, and listings of Parks for each. George B. Dorr, founder of Acadia National Park Top Ten Tips for a Summer Visit to Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial Entrance sign for the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial. A granite base park entrance sign sits next to a sidewalk and the bay. Diana McDaniel The public memorialization of the Port Chicago Naval Magazine owes much to the work of Reverend Diana McDaniel, whose uncle was one of around 1,800 men who worked at Port Chicago during World War II. These men witnessed the war’s largest loss of life on the US mainland when an explosion on July 17, 1944 killed 320 men, two thirds of whom were Black Americans, and injured hundreds more. Black woman stands at podium speaking to crowd in front of river Keith Park: Horticulturist, Arborist in the Pacific West Region Keith Park is as a horticulturalist and certified arborist and maintains the historic landscapes at John Muir National Historic Site, Eugene O’Neil National Historic Site, Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park, and Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial. He received the 2021 regional Cultural Resource Award for Facility Maintenance Specialist for his outreach work with community partners and National Park Service sites across the Pacific West. Man stands in tree Series: Women's History in the Pacific West - California-Great Basin Collection Biographies from Northern California, Central Valley, Sierra Nevada Mountains and Nevada Map of northern California, Central Valley, Sierra Nevada Mountains and Nevada Nancy Gilliland Firsthand Account and Eugene Coffee Jr. Gravesite The explosion at Port Chicago Naval Magazine claimed the lives of hundreds of young African American sailors who worked under segregated and unsafe conditions. It had a deep impact on the local civilian community, the sailors’ families, and U.S. military alike. For Nancy Gilliland, it was a frightening night she never forgot. For Robert Harris, whose uncle Eugene Coffee, Jr. died in the explosion, finding out the truth about his uncle’s death has been a homecoming long in the Two portraits: On left, a young white girl; right, a young uniformed African American sailor. Series: Home and Homelands Exhibition: Politics Who has the right to call a place home? Who gets to decide? Building a home is personal, but it also political. This thread contains stories of belonging and exclusion. At the heart of each story is a woman or group working, organizing, or fighting for their homes and homelands. Most of them fought for full inclusion in American society despite systemic challenges and racial injustices. Some fought for an autonomous homeland. The written word dominates – all pleas for justice. Thick white paper peeled back to reveal collage of women.
Port Chicago Naval Magazine Driven by wartime demands, loaders worked around the clock. Yard engines pushed rail cars full of munitions onto the 1,200-foot pier (right). National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior National Memorial California Loader teams at each of the ship's holds used muscle and steam winches (above) to wrestle bombs, shells, and mines from the cars into the holds. ALL PHOTOS: U.S. NAVY Ifound myself flying towards the wall.. Cyril Sheppard was reliving the first explosion. Then the next one came right behind that. Phoom! ... Men were screaming, the lights went out and glass was flying all over the place. For Sheppard and other seamen a mile away from the munitions loading pier, the monstrous blast was traumatic enough. Loaders and others at the pier that night— 320 men—lost their lives. The 1944 Port Chicago explosion was the result of unsafe loading practices. When some loaders refused to return to work under the same conditions, the U.S. Navy put them on trial for mutiny. All the munitions loaders at the base were African American, making the explosion and trial a little-known but important chapter in the history of U.S. civil rights. North VALLEJO Site of M a r e Island . Naval Shipyard BENICIA BAY C/JA/ DA Q! n SAN RAFAEL _ m . ^, . f o r t Chicago Naval M a g a z i n e National Memorial BAY CONCORD RICHMOND <-„., SAN FRANCISCO WALNUT CREEK BERKELEY BAY PACIFIC OCEAW OAKLAND SAN FRANCISCO 0 hS ° 1 10 Kilometers ,—J 1 10 M i l e s After the accident these black sailors had been transferred across the bay to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. On August 9th they were marched toward the USS San Gay to again load munitions. The blast reduced part of the pier to c rubble; the rest disappeared. The sterr section of Quinault Victory (upper .. fright) was thrown 500 feet. THE WORK With war threatening in the Pacific, the U.S. Navy needed to boost its West Coast capacity for storing and loading munitions. Port Chicago on Suisun Bay offered a deepwater terminal, rail connections, and isolation from highly populated areas. The December 1941 Pearl Harbor attack spurred on construction, and the facility was ready to load ships a year later. The seamen assigned as loaders were all African American, a reflection of naval policies at the time. The Navy had recently allowed African Americans to train in duties outside their traditional roles as stewards, stevedores, or cooks, but even in time of war most were assigned to these menial jobs in segregated units. At Port Chicago the black munitions loaders were supervised by white officers and black petty officers. Already chafing under segregation, the seamen grew increasingly apprehensive about the nature of the work. Neither they nor the officers had special training in handling munitions. Worse, officers placed bets on whose team could load the most tonnage. The facility also ignored advice from a local longshoremen's union and the U.S. Coast Guard regarding safer loading practices. THE EXPLOSION By July 1944 Port Chicago had widened its pier so two ships could be loaded. On the night of the 17th the E.A. Bryan was almost full. The Quinault Victory had arrived that day; loading would start at midnight. Sixteen rail cars lined the pier, filled with 1,000-pound bombs, depth charges, and sensitive incendiary bombs. Also at the pier were a marine guard; ships' crews; a few civilians, including the rail crew; and a Coast Guard fire boat crew. No one is sure what happened next—only that at 10:18 pm there was a tremendous explosion, followed seconds later by a much larger one that obliterated ships, pier, cars, and humans. The blast's debris-filled cloud rose 12,000 feet into the air. Its shock wave was felt for 40 miles, and falling debris damaged most of the homes and businesses of the town of Port Chicago, over a mile away. The base's injured were taken to nearby hospitals, while other survivors were left with the grim work of recovering their crewmates' remains. THE "MUTINY" Survivors anticipated 30 days leave—as their officers had received—and transfer to other duty, but the Navy granted neither. Instead they were sent to Mare Island Naval Shipyard and on August 9 were marched to the shipyard's munitions pier to resume loading. Initially 258 refused, saying they were afraid to load. Threatened with death by firing squad for mutiny during war, 208 yielded. They were given bad conduct discharges after serving out their terms. The 50 who persisted faced the largest mass mutiny trial in naval history. The prosecutor's case turned on what he called "collective" acts to subvert established authority. The defense argued that while the 50 had refused to load, this was the result of each man's fear and not a conspiracy to overthrow a superior. NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall publicly asked hard questions about the base's safety practices, but the 50 were convicted and given sentences of 8 to 15 years. After the war the Navy gra

also available

National Parks
USFS NW
Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Minnesota
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
North Carolina
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Washington
Wyoming
Lake Tahoe - COMING SOON! 🎈
Yellowstone
Yosemite