Black Sailors Exonerated 80 Years After Deadly World War II Disaster

The Navy secretary officially cleared the 256 Black service members who were punished in connection with the explosion in Port Chicago, California

Sarah Kuta
Daily Correspondent

July 19, 2024



The explosion at Port Chicago on July 17, 1944, killed 320 people and injured 400 more. San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images


Eighty years after a deadly explosion rocked a California port, the U.S. Navy has exonerated the Black sailors who were unjustly tried and convicted for refusing to go back to work after the tragic accident.

On Wednesday, the military announced that Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro had officially cleared all 256 Black service members who were punished in connection with the explosion.

None of the men are alive today. But the exoneration may help bring some semblance of closure to their surviving family members. The move represents “the end of a long and arduous journey for these Black sailors and their families, who fought for a nation that denied them equal justice under law,” according to a statement from President Joe Biden. “May we all remember their courage, sacrifice and service to our nation,” he adds.

The explosion took place on July 17, 1944, at Port Chicago, California, situated on Suisun Bay about an hour’s drive northeast of San Francisco. The port supplied ammunition to American forces in the Pacific Ocean during World War II.

More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/black-sailors-exonerated-80-years-after-deadly-wwii-disaster-180984734/