Port Chicago Naval Magazine

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 the evening of July 17, 1944, residents in the San Francisco east bay area were jolted awake by a massive explosion that cracked windows and lit up the night sky. At Port Chicago Naval Magazine, 320 men were instantly killed when two ships being loaded with ammunition for the Pacific theater troops blew up. It was WWII's worst home front disaster. 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.