The explosion killed hundreds of service members and exposed racist double standards among the then-segregated ranks.
By Tara Copp, Associated PressThis image provided by Naval History and Heritage Command shows the view looks south from the munitions pier showing the wreckage of the Building A-7 Joiner Shop, right, from the July 17, 1944 explosion at Port Chicago naval weapons station near San Francisco.
The explosion killed 320 sailors and civilians, nearly 75% of whom were Black, and injured another 400 personnel. Surviving Black sailors had to pick up the human remains and clear the blast site while white officers were granted leave to recuperate. The sailors refused, saying they needed training on how to more safely handle the bombs before they returned.
It was “a horrific situation for those Black sailors that remained,” Del Toro said. The Navy’s office of general counsel reviewed the military judicial proceedings used to punish the sailors and found “there were so many inconsistencies and so many legal violations that came to the forefront,” he said.
On Wednesday, the 80th anniversary of the Port Chicago disaster, Del Toro signed paperwork officially clearing the sailors, who are now deceased. Del Toro handed the first pen to Thurgood Marshall Jr., the late justice’s son. “This decision clears their names and restores their honor and acknowledges the courage that they displayed in the face of immense danger,” Del Toro said.
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