Bill Text: CA SR69 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relative to the Port Chicago Disaster
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Passed) 2016-06-23 - Read. Adopted. (Ayes 35. Noes 0. Page 4507.) [SR69 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SR69-Enrolled.html
BILL NUMBER: SR 69 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
ADOPTED IN SENATE JUNE 23, 2016
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 15, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senators Glazer, Hall, Huff, and Mitchell
MARCH 15, 2016
Relative to the Port Chicago Disaster
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST
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 was the worst home-front disaster of the war; 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, laying 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, 1944, when two of the divisions were
transferred to naval barracks in Vallejo near Mare Island and another
division returned to Port Chicago to help with cleaning up and
rebuilding 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. Kinne, 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 sailors 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, 1944, 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 tethered to the pier; and
WHEREAS, Fifty of these men were selected as the ringleaders 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; 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, In 2009, the Port Chicago Naval Magazine Memorial site
was designated as part of the National Park Service; 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 of the State of California, That the Senate
urges the President and the Congress of the United States to take
all necessary action to restore honor to, and rectify the
mistreatment by the United States Military of, any sailors who were
unjustly blamed for and convicted of mutiny after the Port Chicago
disaster, which occurred in the town of Port Chicago, California, in
1944; and be it further
Resolved, That the Senate further urges the President and the
Congress of the United States to take action to ensure that the
treatment of sailors by the United States Military after the Port
Chicago disaster is rectified by providing for the full exoneration
of all those who were wrongfully court-martialed and having the
military records of those involved cleared of any wrongdoing or
discharge references that were other than honorable, regardless of
whether those sailors are alive or deceased; 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,
to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority
Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from
California in the Congress of the United States.
