[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 98 (Thursday, July 18, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1299-E1300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING PORT CHICAGO ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 18, 2002

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, this week we 
commemorate the 58th anniversary of the July 17, 1944 disaster that 
caused the largest Home Front loss of life during World War II: the 
massive explosion at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine near Concord, 
California.
  Fifty eight years ago this week, 320 sailors, Marines, Coast 
Guardsmen, Merchant Mariners, and workers were killed in the gigantic 
explosion of armaments being loaded aboard ships bound for the Pacific 
theater. Most of the men, who served as munitions loaders, were black. 
Commanded exclusively by white officers, they were given little 
training or equipment to assist them in the dangerous and ultimately 
fatal job of loading high explosives. For years, the exact nature of 
the explosives they loaded remained secret, concealing the fact that 
the dangers and the need for training--had been significantly 
underestimated.
  Several days after the explosion--after they had tended the wounded 
and picked up the shredded remains of their colleagues--the surviving 
black sailors were ordered back to load more ships without any further 
training, and before it was even established what had caused the 
cataclysmic loss of life. Several hundred refused, and ultimately, 50 
were tried for mutiny and convicted.
  Over the past decade and a half, there has been a great movement to 
clear the names of these men, who were loyal, brave and dedicated 
sailors serving a nation that segregated them, exposed them to 
unreasonable dangers, and railroaded them into prison on trumped up 
mutiny charges. Over a half century later, the terrible mistreatment of 
these sailors calls out for justice.
  When we began the effort to inform the American people about Port 
Chicago, it was an almost forgotten chapter in American military and 
social history. Now, a decade and a half later, there are books, 
articles, documentaries that have ran repeatedly on cable television, 
and even a full length television movie. While we have not cleansed the 
convictions from the records of all the men, the conviction was removed 
from one record because of congressionally mandated review, and Freddie 
Meeks, one of the few sailors remaining alive, received a full 
presidential pardon.
  Today, the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial at the site 
of the explosion commemorates the men who lost their lives on July 17, 
1944, and all those who served at that base. That Memorial, which I was 
honored to sponsor, was dedicated on the 50th anniversary of the 
explosion.
  For those interested in learning more about this historic story, 
there are also numerous web pages, including:
www.portchicagomunity.com; www.cccoe.k12.ca.us/pc/; 
www.historychannel.com/exhibits/portchicago/; www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/
USN/fax/PC/; www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq80-1.htm; 
www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq80-4.htm; www.nps.gov/poch/index.htm.
  This year, a team of very talented young people from Bakersfield High 
School in Bakersfield, California produced an outstanding documentary 
that won the statewide History Day competition and was submitted to the 
national competition. I congratulate Dan Ketchell and his entire team, 
for their outstanding work on the Port Chicago film.
  And the Port Chicago story has changed lives. I have been to many of 
the annual services held at the Port Chicago chapel, and have spoken 
with the men and women who lost parents, brothers, and other relatives 
in the explosion: many who never knew the full story of how their loved 
one perished until reading the story of Port Chicago in a news story or 
seeing one of the films. And then they came to the site of the 
explosion, perhaps saw

[[Page E1300]]

their relative's name engraved on the marble, and understood something 
about their family they never really knew before. One daughter of a 
victim from Texas, Raye Adkins, who was born after her father's death 
and was named for him, has dedicated herself to researching the 
families of the victims.
  One year ago, several dozen Members of the Congress joined me in 
sending a letter to President Bush, asking that he examine the Port 
Chicago case and the impressive record developed in conjunction with 
the Meeks pardon. We asked him to use his Executive powers to grant 
clemency to all the sailors prosecuted for protesting the racism under 
which they were forced to live and work, even as they served their 
nation during a war against racism and persecution. I am so pleased 
that the members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a sorority with more than 
140,000 members throughout the nation, has sent dozens upon dozens of 
names on a petition to the President urging him to accede to this 
request for his intervention.
  The Port Chicago story lives on as an increasingly fascinating piece 
of U.S. history and as a moving tribute to the men who served and died 
that terrible night 58 years ago. I know the Members of the House of 
Representatives join me in honoring all the men of Port Chicago for 
their selfless service, their courage and their sacrifice.

                          ____________________