In the days after the disaster, the Naval Court of Inquiry convened to try and determine its cause. The Court heard the testimony of ordnance experts, eyewitnesses of the explosion, survivors of the accident and other base personnel and investigated the possibility of sabotage, defects in the bombs, rough handling of the munitions, winch and other equipment problems, the fueling system of the vessels, and associated organizational problems within the divisions.
Of everyone interviewed, only five were black. The wagering the white officers were doing on their black divisions was explained away as healthy competition, and the officers-in-charge were acquitted of any responsibility. As far as any human cause was determined, blame fell on the black enlisted men who lost their lives in the explosion. But officially, the Court never established the exact cause of this terrible tragedy.
In these same days after the explosion, and during the Naval Court's inquiry, the black seamen returned to work on their new bases, assigned barracks and other associated base duties, but not ship-loading. They did their work still in a lingering state of shock, the disturbing memory of the blast and their many dead friends still fresh in their minds. Even though they weren't handling explosives, their fears and nerves remained on edge, exacerbated by the blame they were receiving from the Navy.
The men were offered no psychiatric counseling to cope with their stress, nor were they given any survivors' leave to visit with family and friends like many of their white counterparts and certainly the officers. Even those hospitalized with injuries were not granted any medical leave.
Hoping to be transferred to other stations, ships or even combat, the black enlisted men of Port Chicago were stunned when they were ordered to return to loading ammunition and explosives only weeks later. On August 9th, over 300 men were ordered out onto the loading pier of the Mare Island Naval facility. Most of the men refused the order, citing their enduring lack of training, similarly poor equipment as was used at Port Chicago, and therefore the clear possibility of another explosion.
After the confrontation, over 250 men were arrested. They were incarcerated for 3 days in a barge moored to the pier, and were threatened by their white officers with mutiny charges punishable by death during wartime. The men were given the opportunity to put the so-called uprising behind them and return to work. About 200 reluctantly agreed, but were thrown in the brig instead. The 50 remaining black enlisted men who still refused to load munitions under unsafe conditions were indeed finally brought up on charges of mutiny and a date of court martial was set.
The trial occurred during the month of September, 1944. The 50 men found themselves facing 7 senior Navy officers, 6 as jury, the seventh as judge. The accused prosecutor was Lt. Commander James F. Coakley. He vehemently argued that the seamen were cowards, guilty of treason. 25 years after this case, he would gain national distinction as the hard line district attorney who prosecuted anti-war activists Huey Newton and Eldridge Cleaver of the Black Panthers.
Coakley's case in this court martial was fueled by the defense counsel's comparatively weak arguments based on a gray distinction between individual insubordination and organized mutiny and the outright fear of the men to handle explosives.
The black press helped create nationwide media coverage which caught the attention of the NAACP. The Secretary of the Navy at the time, James Forrestal, was pressured to allow Future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, then a young general counsel for the civil rights organization, to observe the trial. Disappointed by what to him was obvious racist railroading by the Navy and the seemingly toothless defense, Marshall went on the attack, putting the Navy itself on trial in the media.
On October 24th, 1944, after less than 2 minutes of deliberation for each black seaman accused, the specially convened military court found all 50 men guilty of mutiny as charged. 1/5th were sentenced to 15 years in prison. Almost half were sentenced to 12 years. Another 5th were sentenced to 10 years, and the remaining 5 men to eight years. All the men were to be dishonorably discharged from the Navy.
In the year after the trial, Thurgood Marshall took on the case on behalf of the NAACP, appealing the men's cause to the highest government officials. During this time, Eleanor Roosevelt learned about the case and joined growing public sentiment in refuting similar racial injustice. Partly as a result of her efforts, black United States Army Air Corps pilots stationed in Tuskegee, Alabama were the first black pilots to see combat during World War II. With the combination of the war, the international fight for freedom and an election year, there was immense pressure on President Franklin Roosevelt.
But despite all of this, Marshall's public and legal campaign failed to overturn the convictions of the black naval enlisted men. However, when the war ended a year later, and the spirit of peace prevailed, the President finally agreed to release the men under a general amnesty and time served. Upon their release, though, the men were never granted any Navy veterans' benefits, and their felony convictions remained upheld.
At the time of the Port Chicago disaster, every man handling ammunition on the base was black and every officer was white. This segregation of personnel and responsibility on bases, and the refusal to allow black enlistees in combat was standard practice by the Navy. The tragic explosion at Port Chicago accounted for 15% of deaths suffered by blacks in all of the war. It was recognized as an even larger national disaster than Pearl Harbor. It caused millions of dollars in damage, over 300 deaths and 500 injuries.
Survivors Spencer Sikes and Morris Soublet Port Chicago Commemoration Ceremony, July 16, 2000
And the subsequent investigation into the causes and the facts it brought to light, resulted in no policy alteration at that time. Still, these events and the trial for mutiny of those 50 men were ultimately a catalyst for change. Soon after, the Navy did desegregate training and shore facilities and ships. The Navy also instituted new training and safety procedures for the handling of ammunition and explosives. And for the first time, white sailors were also assigned munitions loading duties.
Unfortunately, even to this day, the 50 black enlisted men -- sailors who were unflinching patriots and brave men willing to fight and die for their country -- have not been exonerated. Their convictions for mutiny in time of war have never been overturned. The price of their duty, unrealized. Their essential contributions and the heroism of their service, never truly recognized.
Additional Sources:
www.usmm.org
portchicagomutiny.com
www.cccoe.k12.ca.us
