[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 116 (Thursday, July 19, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1572-E1573]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCING THE ``PORT CHICAGO NAVAL MAGAZINE NATIONAL MEMORIAL 
                       ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2007''

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 19, 2007

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Speaker, this week marks the 
63rd anniversary of America's worst home-front disaster of World War 
II. This weekend, the National Park Service will join the community in 
commemorating the anniversary of the Port Chicago explosion and 
honoring those who were injured and gave their lives for their country.
  I am introducing legislation today that honors the anniversary of 
Port Chicago by improving and enhancing the Port Chicago Naval Magazine 
National Memorial, in my district in California.
  Thousands of tons of ammunition exploded on the night of July 17, 
1944, at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in the east San Francisco Bay 
area. The blasts instantly killed 320 sailors, wounded hundreds more, 
and damaged and destroyed merchant ships, the pier, a train, and the 
buildings of Port Chicago. Less than a month after the tragedy, three 
divisions were ordered to resume work at a new site a few miles away. 
Most of the men refused to continue their dangerous tasks until 
supervision, training, and working conditions were improved. In 
response, the Navy charged fifty men with conspiring to mutiny; all 
were convicted.
  The majority of the men killed while handling ordinance at Port 
Chicago, and all of those convicted of mutiny, were African-American. 
This injustice had clear racial implications, and was a turning point 
in our Nation's history. Following the conviction, Thurgood Marshall, 
then a lawyer with the NAACP, took up the case. The Port Chicago 
disaster and its aftermath strongly influenced America's move towards 
racial equality, including the Navy's move toward desegregation in 
1945, and President Truman's 1948 Executive Order desegregating the 
Armed Forces and guaranteeing ``equality of treatment and opportunity 
for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, 
religion or national origin.''
  Recognizing the importance of the site to our Nation's history, I 
sponsored legislation in the 102nd Congress to designate the site of 
the Port Chicago Naval Magazine as a national memorial. Since the bill 
became law in 1992, the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial 
has been managed by the National Park Service to remind Americans of 
the contributions made by the Port Chicago sailors.
  Today, to honor the anniversary of the 1944 disaster, I am 
introducing the ``Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial 
Enhancement Act of 2007,'' a new bill designed to increase the National 
Memorial's accessibility, provide additional visitor services, and 
preserve the site for future generations.
  The legislation enhances the memorial in several ways. First, it 
directs the Secretary of the Interior to administer the Port Chicago 
Naval Magazine National Memorial as a unit of the National Park System. 
Second, when the site is determined to be excess to military needs, 
this new bill would transfer the property to the administrative 
jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior.
  In order to improve public access to the Memorial, this legislation 
authorizes the Interior Department to work with the City of Concord and 
the East Bay Regional Park District to establish and operate a facility 
for visitor orientation and parking, administrative offices, and 
curatorial storage for the Memorial. Finally, the legislation directs 
the Defense Department and the Interior Department to work together to 
repair storm damage to the site.
  I am including for the record a letter I received today in support of 
the Act from the president of the National Parks Conservation 
Association. As Mr. Kiernan says, the story of Port Chicago ``deserves 
commemoration at the highest possible level, and clearly is worthy of 
being fully vested in the care of the National Park Service, the 
guardians of our Nation's natural and cultural heritage.''
  This new bill will protect and enhance the memorial, and will allow 
future generations to honor this important moment in American history. 
I urge my colleagues to support the Port

[[Page E1573]]

Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial Enhancement Act of 2007.

                                                    National Parks


                                     Conservation Association,

                                    Washington, DC, July 19, 2007.
     Hon. George Miller,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
     Dear Congressman Miller: On behalf of the 330,000 members of 
     the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), I am 
     writing to express our strong support for your bill changing 
     the designation by the Port Chicago Memorial from an 
     affiliated NPS site to a full unit of the National Park 
     System. This legislation brings the nation one step closer to 
     fully honoring those whose service and sacrifice exacted such 
     a heavy toll in blood and honor.
       As you know, the Port Chicago Naval Magazine was the scene 
     of a deadly explosion on July 17, 1944, which claimed the 
     lives of 320 sailors and civilians and wounded 400 more. The 
     blast, felt up to 500 miles away, occurred as merchant ships 
     were being loaded with 5,000 tons of high explosives. 
     Unaddressed concerns about safety led to a refusal by African 
     American sailors assigned to an ordnance battalion to load or 
     unload other ships. The subsequent court martial of 258 of 
     these men on charges of bad conduct and mutiny was a highly 
     controversial decision with decidedly racial overtones.
       Establishing the Port Chicago Naval Magazine Memorial as a 
     fully-fledged unit of the National Park System will complete 
     work first started in 1990, when formal efforts to create a 
     memorial first began. The explosion, work stoppage, and 
     mutiny trial, provide invaluable insights into the injustice 
     of racial discrimination, the African American experience in 
     the U.S. military, and home front life during the Second 
     World War.
       You are to be commended for the many years you have 
     championed this cause and honored the legacy of the surviving 
     veterans. This story deserves commemoration at the highest 
     possible level and clearly is worthy of being fully vested in 
     the care of the National Park Service, the guardians of our 
     nation's natural and cultural heritage. We pledge to do all 
     we can to help see your bill enacted into law.
           Sincerely,
                                                Thomas C. Kiernan,
     President.

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