Bill Text: CA SJR21 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Port Chicago disaster.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 48-25)
Status: (Passed) 2010-06-28 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 47, Statutes of 2010. [SJR21 Detail]
Download: California-2009-SJR21-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SJR 21 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 47
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JUNE 28, 2010
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR JUNE 28, 2010
ADOPTED IN SENATE JUNE 24, 2010
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 21, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 21, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wright
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula,
Bass, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A.
Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Tran, Villines, and Yamada)
JANUARY 26, 2010
Relative to the Port Chicago disaster.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SJR 21, Wright. Port Chicago disaster.
This measure would memorialize Congress and the President of the
United States to act to vindicate the sailors unjustly blamed for,
and the sailors convicted of mutiny following, the Port Chicago
disaster, and to rectify any mistreatment by the military of those
sailors, as specified.
WHEREAS, On the night of July 17, 1944, two transport vessels
loading ammunition at the Port Chicago naval base on the Sacramento
River in California were suddenly engulfed in a gigantic explosion,
the incredible blast of which wrecked the naval base and heavily
damaged the town of Port Chicago, located 1.5 miles away; and
WHEREAS, Everyone on the pier and aboard the two ships was killed
instantly--some 320 American naval personnel, 200 of whom were
African American enlisted men; and another 390 military and civilian
personnel were injured, including 226 African American enlisted men;
and
WHEREAS, The two ships and the large loading pier were totally
annihilated and an estimated $12,000,000 in property damage was
caused by the huge blast; and
WHEREAS, This single, stunning disaster accounted for nearly
one-fifth of all African American naval casualties during the whole
of World War II; and
WHEREAS, The specific cause of the explosion was never officially
established by a Court of Inquiry, in effect clearing the
officers-in-charge of any responsibility for the disaster and insofar
as any human cause was invoked, laid the burden of blame on the
shoulders of the African American enlisted men who died in the
explosion; and
WHEREAS, Following the incident, many of the surviving African
American sailors were transferred to nearby Camp Shoemaker where they
remained until July 31, when two of the divisions were transferred
to naval barracks in Vallejo near Mare Island; another division,
which was also at Camp Shoemaker until July 31, returned to Port
Chicago to help with the cleaning up and rebuilding of the base; and
WHEREAS, Many of these men were in a state of shock, troubled by
the vivid memory of the horrible explosion; however, they were
provided no psychiatric counseling or medical screening, except for
those who were obviously physically injured; none of the men, even
those who had been hospitalized with injuries, were granted survivor
leaves to visit their families before being reassigned to regular
duties; and none of these survivors were called to testify at the
Court of Inquiry; and
WHEREAS, Captain Merrill T. Kline, Officer-in-Charge of Port
Chicago, issued a statement praising the African American enlisted
men and stating that "the men displayed creditable coolness and
bravery under those emergency conditions"; and
WHEREAS, After the disaster, white sailors were given 30 days'
leave to visit their families--according to survivors, this was the
standard for soldiers involved in a disaster--while only African
American sailors were ordered back to work the next day to clean and
remove human remains; and
WHEREAS, After the disaster, the preparation of Mare Island for
the arrival of African American sailors included moving the barracks
of white sailors away from the loading area in order to be clear of
the ships being loaded in case of another explosion; and
WHEREAS, The survivors and new personnel who later were ordered to
return to loading ammunition expressed their opposition, citing the
possibility of another explosion; the first confrontation occurred on
August 9 when 328 men from three divisions were ordered out to the
loading pier; the great majority of the men balked, and eventually
258 were arrested and confined for three days on a large barge tiered
to the pier; and
WHEREAS, Fifty of these men were selected as the ring-leaders and
charged with mutiny, and on October 24, 1944, after only 80 minutes
of a military court, all 50 men were found guilty of mutiny--l0 were
sentenced to 15 years in prison, 24 sentenced to 12 years, 11
sentenced to 10 years, and 5 sentenced to 8 years; and all were to be
dishonorably discharged from the Navy; and this was the largest mass
mutiny trial in the United States to this day; and
WHEREAS, After a massive outcry the next year, in January 1946, 47
of the Port Chicago men were released from prison and "exiled" for
one year overseas before returning to their families; and
WHEREAS, In a 1994 investigation, the United States Navy stated
that "there is no doubt that racial prejudice was responsible for the
posting of only African American enlisted personnel to loading
divisions at Port Chicago"; and
WHEREAS, In the 1994 investigation, the United States Navy,
prompted by Members of Congress, admitted that the routine assignment
of only African American enlisted personnel to manual labor was
clearly motivated by race; and
WHEREAS, The United States Congress reduced the death benefit to
those killed in Port Chicago from $5,000, the normal amount given, to
$3,000, simply because the sailors were African American; and
WHEREAS, In many cases, families of sailors killed in the disaster
were never told they were entitled to consideration for the death of
their relative; and
WHEREAS, Despite the gross injustice faced by these sailors, only
one of the men charged with mutiny was given a pardon by President
Clinton in 1998; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California
respectfully memorializes the Congress and the President of the
United States to act to vindicate the sailors unjustly blamed for,
and the sailors convicted of mutiny following, the Port Chicago
disaster, and to rectify any mistreatment by the military of those
sailors; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully memorializes the
Congress and the President of the United States to take the necessary
actions to ensure those sailors' treatment is rectified by the
following:
(1) A survey is conducted to ensure that all families of sailors
that are eligible to receive benefits have received notification of
eligibility.
(2) Full compensation is provided on behalf of the sailors'
families that were not paid the benefit or only paid part of the
benefit, including appropriate interest on that compensation.
(3) Full exoneration to all who were court-martialed, whether
alive or deceased, is granted, including, but not limited to, having
the military records of these men cleared of any court judgment or
less than honorable discharge.
(4) The remains of one of the unnamed graves from the Military
Cemetery at San Bruno, where unidentified sailors were placed, are
taken to Arlington National Cemetery and placed in a marked grave
with full names to commemorate the event and to represent all those
who died at Port Chicago.
(5) A ship is named the "Port Chicago."
(6) The survivors and their families are invited to the White
House for a recognition ceremony; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States,
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each Senator and
Representative from California in the Congress of the United States,
and to the author for appropriate distribution.
