The 1944 Port Chicago Explosion and Subsequent Mutiny Trials
When a Segregated Navy Led to Death and Dishonor
“Man, it was awful….You’d see a shoe with a foot in it….You’d see a head floating across the water — just the head or an arm…just awful….That thing kept you from sleeping at night.” — Jack Crittenden
Port Chicago isn’t where you think it might be, somewhere off Lake Michigan in the Chicago, IL area. It’s on Suisun Bay, about 36 miles Northeast of San Francisco, CA. On July 17, 1944, it was the site of the most non-combat deaths to take place during World War II. Three hundred twenty soldiers and civilians died, and another 390 were injured on the Naval base and nearby town of Port Chicago.
The naval Port Chicago was a U.S. Navy munitions facility created to assist nearby Mare Island in supplying the Pacific theatre with bombs. America was at war on two major fronts: Europe and the Pacific. Mare Island and Port Chicago were critical to providing the bombs used by American aircraft against the Japanese. Port Chicago had recently increased its capacity to load two ships simultaneously in a 24-hour operation.
